Standing Committee A

[Mr. Alan Hurst in the Chair]

Planning and Compulsory Purchase (Re-committed) Bill

New clause 18 - Procedure for authorisation of compulsory purchase by authority other than a Minister

'(1) The Acquisition of Land Act 1981 (c.67) (the ''1981 Act'') is amended as follows. 
 (2) In section 6 (service of documents), in subsection (4)— 
 (a) after ''lessee'' in each place there is inserted '', tenant'', 
 (b) after '' ''lessee'' '' there is inserted '', ''tenant'' ''. 
 (3) In section 7 (interpretation), after subsection (2) there is added— 
 ''(3) But an instrument containing regulations made for the purposes of section 13A or paragraph 4A of Schedule 1 is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.'' 
 (4) In section 11 (notices in newspapers), after subsection (2) there is added— 
 ''(3) In addition, the acquiring authority shall affix a notice in the prescribed form to a conspicuous object or objects on or near the land comprised in the order. 
 (4) The notice under subsection (3) must— 
 (a) be addressed to persons occupying or having an interest in the land, and 
 (b) set out each of the matters mentioned in subsection (2) (but reading the reference there to first publication of the notice as a reference to the day when the notice under subsection (3) is first affixed).'' 
 (5) In section 12 (notices to owners, lessees and occupiers)— 
 (a) in subsection (1), for the words from ''owner'' to ''order'' (where it first appears) there is substituted ''qualifying person'', 
 (b) for subsection (2) there is substituted— 
 ''(2) A person is a qualifying person, in relation to land comprised in an order, if— 
 (a) he is an owner, lessee, tenant (whatever the tenancy period) or occupier of the land, or 
 (b) he falls within subsection (2A). 
 (2A) A person falls within this subsection if he is— 
 (a) a person to whom the acquiring authority would, if proceeding under section 5(1) of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965, be required to give a notice to treat, or 
 (b) a person the acquiring authority thinks is likely to be entitled to make a relevant claim if the order is confirmed and the compulsory purchase takes place, so far as he is known to the acquiring authority after making diligent inquiry. 
 (2B) A relevant claim is a claim for compensation under section 10 of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 (compensation for injurious affection).'' 
 (6) For section 13 (confirmation of compulsory purchase order) there are substituted the following sections— 
 ''13 Confirmation of order: no objections 
 (1) The confirming authority may confirm a compulsory purchase order with or without modifications if it is satisfied— 
 (a) that the notice requirements have been complied with, and 
 (b) that one of the conditions in subsection (2) is satisfied. 
 (2) The conditions are— 
 (a) no relevant objection is made, 
 (b) every relevant objection made is either withdrawn or disregarded. 
 (3) The confirming authority may require every person who makes a relevant objection to state the grounds of the objection in writing. 
 (4) If the confirming authority is satisfied that an objection relates exclusively to matters which can be dealt with by the tribunal by whom the compensation is to be assessed it may disregard the objection. 
 (5) The notice requirements are the requirements under sections 11 and 12 to publish, affix and serve notices in connection with the compulsory purchase order. 
 (6) A relevant objection is an objection by a person who is a qualifying person for the purposes of section 12(2), but if such a person qualifies only by virtue of section 12(2A)(b) and the confirming authority thinks that he is not likely to be entitled to make a relevant claim his objection is not a relevant objection. 
 (7) Disregarded means disregarded under subsection (4) or under any other power to disregard a relevant objection contained in the enactment providing for the compulsory purchase. 
 13A Confirmation of order: remaining objections 
 (1) This section applies to the confirmation of a compulsory purchase order if a relevant objection is made which is neither— 
 (a) withdrawn, nor 
 (b) disregarded, 
 (a remaining objection). 
 (2) The confirming authority may proceed under the written representations procedure— 
 (a) if the order is not subject to special parliamentary procedure, 
 (b) in the case of an order to which section 16 applies, if a certificate has been given under subsection (2) of that section, and 
 (c) if every person who has made a remaining objection consents in the prescribed manner. 
 (3) If subsection (2) does not apply or if the confirming authority decides not to proceed under that subsection, it must either— 
 (a) cause a public local inquiry to be held, or 
 (b) give every person who has made a remaining objection an opportunity of appearing before and being heard by a person appointed by the confirming authority for the purpose. 
 (4) If a person who has made a remaining objection takes the opportunity to appear before a person appointed under subsection (3)(b) the confirming authority must give the acquiring authority and any other person it thinks appropriate the opportunity to be heard at the same time. 
 (5) The confirming authority may confirm the order with or without modifications if it has considered the objection and either— 
 (a) it has followed the written representations procedure, or 
 (b) in a case which falls within subsection (3), if an inquiry was held or a person was appointed under subsection (3)(b), it has considered the report of the person who held the inquiry or who was so appointed. 
 (6) The written representations procedure is such procedure as is prescribed for the purposes of this section including provision affording an opportunity to— 
 (a) every person who has made a remaining objection, 
 (b) the acquiring authority, and 
 (c) any other person the confirming authority thinks appropriate, 
 to make written representations as to whether the order should be confirmed. 
 (7) Relevant objection and disregarded must be construed in accordance with section 13. 
 13B Written representations procedure: supplementary 
 (1) This section applies where the confirming authority decides under section 13A to follow the written representations procedure. 
 (2) The confirming authority may make orders as to the costs of the parties to the written representations procedure, and as to which party must pay the costs. 
 (3) An order under subsection (2) may be made a rule of the High Court on the application of any party named in the order. 
 (4) The costs incurred by the confirming authority in connection with the written representations procedure must be paid by the acquiring authority, if the confirming authority so directs. 
 (5) The confirming authority may certify the amount of its costs, and any amount so certified and directed to be paid by the acquiring authority is recoverable summarily by the confirming authority as a civil debt. 
 (6) Section 42(2) of the Housing and Planning Act 1986 (recovery of Minister's costs in connection with inquiries) applies to the written representations procedure as if the procedure is an inquiry specified in section 42(1) of that Act. 
 (7) Regulations under section 13A(6) may make provision as to the giving of reasons for decisions taken in cases where the written representations procedure is followed. 
 13C Confirmation in stages 
 (1) The confirming authority may confirm an order (with or without modifications) so far as it relates to part of the land comprised in the order (the ''relevant part'') if each of the conditions in subsection (2) is met. 
 (2) The conditions are— 
 (a) the confirming authority is satisfied that the order ought to be confirmed so far as it relates to the relevant part but has not for the time being determined whether the order ought to be confirmed so far as it relates to the remaining part; 
 (b) the confirming authority is satisfied that the notice requirements have been complied with. 
 (3) If there is a remaining objection in respect of the order, the confirming authority may only act under subsection (1) after complying with section 13A(2) or (3) (as the case may be). 
 (4) But it may act under subsection (1) without complying with those provisions if it is satisfied that all remaining objections relate solely to the remaining part of the land. 
 (5) If the confirming authority acts under subsection (1)— 
 (a) it must give a direction postponing consideration of the order, so far as it relates to the remaining part, until such time as may be specified by or under the direction, 
 (b) the order so far as it relates to each part of the land must be treated as a separate order. 
 (6) The notices to be published, affixed and served under section 15 must include a statement as to the effect of the direction given under subsection (5)(a). 
 (7) Notice requirements must be construed in accordance with section 13. 
 (8) Remaining objection must be construed in accordance with section 13A.'' 
 (7) For section 15 there is substituted— 
 ''15 Notices after confirmation of order 
 (1) After the order has been confirmed, the acquiring authority must— 
 (a) serve a confirmation notice and a copy of the order as confirmed on each person on whom a notice was required to be served under section 12, and 
 (b) affix a confirmation notice to a conspicuous object or objects on or near the land comprised in the order. 
 (2) The notice under subsection (1)(b) must— 
 (a) be addressed to persons occupying or having an interest in the land; 
 (b) so far as practicable, be kept in place by the acquiring authority until the expiry of a period of six weeks beginning with the date when the order becomes operative. 
 (3) The acquiring authority must also publish a confirmation notice in one or more local newspapers circulating in the locality in which the land comprised in the order is situated. 
 (4) A confirmation notice is a notice— 
 (a) describing the land; 
 (b) stating that the order has been confirmed; 
 (c) (except in the case of a notice under subsection (1)(a)) naming a place where a copy of the order as confirmed and of the map referred to there may be inspected at all reasonable hours; 
 (d) that a person aggrieved by the order may apply to the High Court as mentioned in section 23. 
 (5) A confirmation notice must be in the prescribed form.'' 
 (8) The amendments made by this section do not apply to orders of which notice under section 11 of the 1981 Act has been published before commencement of this section.'.—[Yvette Cooper.]
 Brought up, and read the First time.

Yvette Cooper: I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.The Chairman: With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:
 Government new clause 19—Procedure for authorisation of compulsory purchase by a Minister. 
 Government amendments Nos. 56 and 58 to 72.

Yvette Cooper: May I set out the purposes of new clauses 18 and 19? New clause 18 recasts the existing procedure for the making and confirmation of compulsory purchase orders for non-ministerial acquiring authorities. Such authorities include local authorities, regional development agencies and English Partnerships. The decision whether to confirm such orders is currently made by the relevant Secretary of State or the National Assembly for Wales, and they are known as the confirming authorities.
 New clause 19 deals with orders for the acquisition of land by Ministers, such as by the Secretary of State for Transport on behalf of the Highways Agency, or the National Assembly for Wales. The procedures for both are similar, but the terminology is different, so parallel clauses are required to achieve our intention. 
 New clauses 18 and 19 introduce three major changes. First, they will extend the groups of people who have a right to have their objections heard; secondly, they will introduce a written procedure; and thirdly, they will enable compulsory purchase orders to be determined in stages. I shall take each point in turn. 
 The extension of the category of persons who have a right have their objections heard to confirmation of a compulsory purchase order will create a fairer system. The right to appear at a public local inquiry or hearing to argue a case in front of an inspector is currently limited to owners, lessees or occupiers other than tenants who are contracted for a month or less. At present, tenants for a month or less have no such right, despite the fact that such tenants may have been in occupation for many years. They are typically tenants on short-hold tenancies that have continued after their 
 fixed term. It seems entirely fair that such persons should have a right to argue their case if they wish to object to a compulsory purchase order. 
 Another example would be a person who has a right of access across the land to be acquired—a right that is either to be interfered with or acquired under the acquiring authority's proposals. That right of access may be critical to the person's enjoyment of his land. It is only fair that he should have a right to make representations against confirmation of the order. 
 The new clauses will extend the category of persons with an interest in or over the land to be acquired who will have a right to object. Essentially, they cover anyone who might be able to claim compensation as a result of the implementation of the order and the scheme for which the order is made. However, given the practical difficulties that acquiring authorities might have in identifying all those with an interest in land, the new clauses do not place an absolute obligation on acquiring authorities to identify them all. For instance, it may be impractical for acquiring authorities to identify those claiming prescriptive rights across land. A person might claim a private right of way across land on the basis of use over many years. Such claims may not be written down or registered, and it may not be obvious to the acquiring authority that such a right exists.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: I am grateful to the Minister for the clear way in which she is setting out such a highly complex subject.
 I was going to raise this point later, but it seems logical to raise it now. A number of properties up and down the country are empty, or have been abandoned for a period of time, and it may not be easy to ascertain who owns them. What proposals do the Government have to try to identify those who might have an interest in such properties?

Yvette Cooper: That is picked up in new clause 20, which we will come to shortly. Obviously, the acquiring authorities must do everything they can to identify all who may have a stake or interest in the matter. However, the purpose of this new clause, and the issue here, is that in cases where there are people whom it would simply not be reasonable to expect the acquiring authority to identify or reach beforehand, we must ensure that the acquiring authority is obliged to fix an appropriate notice on the site, thereby publishing the order on or near the land.
 That provision attempts to deal with people who have disputed right of access or who claim to have private right of way across the land, but whose claims may not be obviously apparent to the acquiring authority in the first instant. The acquiring authority will be required to display an appropriate notice at the time of confirmation. The new requirement for site notices is in addition to the current requirements to serve notices on all those whom the acquiring authority has been able to identify as having appropriate interest in the land included in the order and to place statutory notices in local newspapers.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: It is worth pursuing the point one more time: if it is clear that the land has been abandoned, would the acquiring authority be expected
 to make inquiries at the Land Registry, where some clue as to who owned the land might well be had?

Yvette Cooper: Yes, it would. We are certainly not attempting to reduce the acquiring authority's responsibility to do all it can to identify those with an interest in the land subject to the compulsory purchase order; we think that that responsibility is right and proper. The provisions simply recognise that we are extending the category of potential objectors to cover those who may be much more difficult to identify. For that reason we think it right that the authority should have the additional obligation to place a notice on the site, in order to reach those that the acquiring authority might not think it obvious should be included. That is a result of widening the category of people who have a statutory right to object, and that is the purpose of the new clause. We will come to the issue of information in a later new clause.
 The people on whom the acquiring authority must serve notice of the making of the order are referred to in proposed new section 12(2)(a) in new clause 18(5) as 
''an owner, lessee, tenant (whatever the tenancy period) or occupier of the land, or''
 someone who ''falls within subsection (2A).'' Subsection 2A covers two categories. The first is anyone whose interest the purchasing authority will have to acquire as part of the CPO, and the second is anyone whom the acquiring authority thinks likely to make a claim for compensation for injurious affection under section 10 of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965. That would include, for example, interference with an adjoining owner's property rights, or someone whose right of way over the land was to be interfered with. 
 Another subject dealt with by this group of amendments is written representations. The introduction of a written representation procedure for the consideration of objections should help to speed up the statutory process. The aim is to make things fairer by making the submission of representations more accessible to unrepresented objectors. At the moment, it is possible in principle for objections to be considered by means of written representations. However, in practice, the use of entirely written representations does not occur. In the absence of a statutory power to prescribe a standard procedure, it has not proved practical to get agreement among all the parties involved on what procedure should be adopted on a case-by-case basis, yet there may be a number of instances where using a written procedure could speed up decision making, and might be less daunting for objectors, and there might be cases in which all parties in the process would prefer a written procedure, if only the details could be agreed. 
 The new clause enables the Secretary of State to make regulations setting out a procedure by which objections can be considered in writing. We have issued a short paper describing the way in which, subject to consultation, we envisage the written representations process working. That paper is available on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 
 website, and I believe that it has also been sent to Members. 
 The written representations procedure will be available only when all those with remaining objections agree to it rather than a public inquiry. It will not apply if an objector insists on a public inquiry or if there are complex circumstances and we think that the need for a public inquiry remains—for example, when special parliamentary procedure applies, such as with common land or National Trust land, or with operational land involving the acquirement of utilities.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: Perhaps it is easier to deal with matters by intervening, rather than by making points in my opening remarks.
 Before we get to the written procedure, I will deal with a point about objections. Objectors may make objections and the confirming authority may confirm the order if certain conditions are satisfied. Under new section 13(2): 
''The conditions are—
 (a) no relevant objection is made,''
 but, perhaps more significantly, 
''(b) every relevant objection made is either withdrawn or disregarded.''
 I want to press the Minister a little more on that ''disregarded.'' It seems to me that there is a danger that objections could be disregarded unless an objector has made a full statutory statement of his or her case, with proofs of evidence—in other words, unless they have presented their full case at that point. I am not sure that that is the intention, but I would be grateful if the Minister clarified that.

Yvette Cooper: No, it is certainly not the intention to have a back-door way out by using the word ''disregarded''. I would like to come back to the hon. Gentleman on that in my summing up. He has made some important points and I do not want to mislead him or the Committee by trying to respond now. That issue needs to be clarified.
 New clause 18 also inserts proposed new section 13B in the Acquisition of Land Act 1981. That gives the confirming authority the power to make orders about the costs of the parties making written representations, including the power to specify which parties must pay the costs. That is analogous to the current provisions relating to public local inquiries into compulsory purchase orders. 
 As I set out earlier, the third area of change is confirmation in stages. That extends to all types of order the power to confirm orders in stages. It should make it possible for work to start on part of an acquiring authority's scheme where part of an order can be confirmed in advance of the rest. 
 At present, compulsory purchase orders made under certain specific powers can be confirmed in stages. For example, orders made under section 226(1)(a) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 can be confirmed in two stages, and orders under section 259 of the Highways Act 1980 can be 
 brought into force in an unlimited number of stages, but such staged confirmation is not available for all types of order. Such inconsistency could result in unnecessary delay where there are problems with part of the area covered by a single order, while progress could be made on acquiring the rest of the land and implementing the scheme for which it is needed. 
 The new clause proposes a general power for compulsory purchase orders to be confirmed in any number of stages if the confirming authority is satisfied that that is the most appropriate course of action.

Andrew Turner: I confess to having far less knowledge on the matter than my hon. Friend the Member for Cotswold (Mr. Clifton-Brown). Will the Minister please tell me where it is stated who a confirming authority is?

Yvette Cooper: Again, rather than spend the next five minutes trying to find the exact place, I will come back to the hon. Gentleman, if he will allow me.
 When the confirming Minister decides that it would be appropriate to confirm the order in part, he must give a direction postponing consideration of the remaining part of the order until a fixed date and stating that the remaining part of the order must be treated as a separate order. The fixed date will be specified in the direction or following it. 
 New clause 19 sets out very similar structuring of and amendments to the procedure for the preparation in draft, and the making of, compulsory orders for land that a Minister seeks to acquire.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: The confirming in stages procedure is of course a new one. If an order for the taking of a property in stages is confirmed it is presumably for the convenience of the acquiring authority, which for some reason does not want to take the whole property at once. In the light of that, can the Minister confirm that if the person whose interest is being acquired incurs extra costs because of the procedure, they will be able to claim those costs, whether as a result of severance, injurious affection or any other way?

Yvette Cooper: Clearly, all issues of compensation have to be dealt with fairly. I cannot specify what the circumstances would be, but all the responses in the process of determining compensation have to go through the proper procedures. If they do not, those people who lose out or are entitled to compensation will have a case.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: I will give the Minister a practical example that might help both her and the Committee. Let us suppose that somebody owns a farm, and it is decided that motorway will be put through the middle of that farm. The acquiring authority would hitherto have had to take the whole farm. Now it may acquire land on only one side of the motorway. The farmer will have considerable extra costs as he will have less land on which to operate. For example, if he has a dairy farm he will have far less land and may have to sell cows because he does not have the land to put them on. Therefore he will be involved in considerable cost and disturbance, and I
 want the Minister to undertake that such a farmer will be able to claim the costs.

Yvette Cooper: I point out to the hon. Gentleman the fact that the arrangements already exist for certain types of order. It is already possible to carry out safe confirmation for different kinds of order. There must be good reasons involved; it is not simply a matter for the discretion of the acquiring authority. It has to be a matter for the confirming authority to decide, and it must have good reasons. The same approach would apply as does in those areas where it is already possible to confirm in stages. We are simply extending the approach to a wider category of orders, because we think that there will be cases when that makes sense and is appropriate.
 Amendments Nos. 56 to 72 are consequential. Amendment No. 60 makes consequential amendments to the Welsh Development Agency Act 1975 and the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980. The latter extends to Scotland and it is necessary to extend the Bill to cover Scotland for the purposes of that one provision. That is the effect of amendments Nos. 56 and 57, which amend clause 89 on the territorial extent of the Bill. Amendments Nos. 61 to 64 are consequential to the Highways Act 1980. Amendments Nos. 65 to 68 are consequential to various other enactments as a result of the provisions of new clause 18. Amendments Nos. 69 to 72 are the repeals of existing legislation. 
 I want to clarify which body will be the confirming authority. The confirming authority will be different for different orders and acquiring authorities, depending on the case. The confirming authority is set out in whichever Act gives the acquiring authority the power to acquire land for those particular purposes in the first place. Later, we will discuss amendments that involve the confirming authority transferring its power to confirm in particular circumstances.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: Part 7, relating to compulsory purchase, is complex. Nevertheless it is very important. I would like to probe the Minister as to what is in the new clause and what is not, and why certain issues are not.
 Government Library note SNSC 1149 says: 
''The Government will take this opportunity to consider whether the proposal to recommit the bill provides an opportunity to bring forward some of the further provisions set out in the daughter document to the 18 July statement covering compulsory purchase, which will help to speed up and simplify the process and which are not dependent on the outcome of the Law Commission's work report.''
 As long ago as 2001 the Government set out their thoughts in the document ''Compulsory Purchase and Compensation: delivering a fundamental change'', so they have had almost two years to consider the subject. There is still confusion among practitioners about where the Government have got to, and about timing. The ODPM website cheerfully admits that it has not had time to consult the Council of Mortgage Lenders on the issue of advanced payments of compensation to mortgagees. It adds that it hopes to have a new clause ready in time for Report. However, I see nothing 
 about that in new clause 18. Before we dispose of this new clause or the next one, I would be grateful if the Minister confirmed whether we can expect more amendments or new clauses on compensation at any stage of the Bill's passage through both Houses of Parliament. Are these the final amendments on compensation? 
 As it is clearly presaged that there are to be further proposals from the Government as a result of the Law Commission's recommendation on compulsory purchase, can the Minister clarify as far as possible, without prejudging what may be in the Queen's Speech, how these matters are to be dealt with? Some of them are included in the new clause. 
 I shall remind the Committee what was set out in the introduction to the Government's proposals: 
''In order to simplify the system we''—
 that is the Government—will 
''provide . . . guidance in the short term on the justification required for the exercise of compulsory purchase powers for planning purposes''.
 I do not see that in this new clause or in any other amendment so far. The second point was to 
''provide for unopposed orders to be confirmed by the acquiring authority''.
 That has been covered by the previous amendments. The third point was to 
''enable objections to be considered by means of written representations where that is agreed by objectors'', 
That is covered by new clause 18. The fourth point was to 
''define statements of principle as the basis for compensation decisions, to replace the current plethora of, sometimes conflicting, case law''.
 We dealt with that issue during an earlier sitting. The fifth point was to 
''provide for the dates from which various compensation entitlements arise to be defined unambiguously in statute''.
 We dealt with that in the previous new clause. The final point was to 
''introduce unified Inquiry Rules, with clear deadlines for preparatory procedures.''
 I certainly do not see that anywhere, and it is a big subject that needs to be dealt with at some stage. 
 The document goes on to say that to ensure that 
''compensation is based on the principle of ensuring that no claimant is worse off as a result of compulsory purchase'',
 there will be 
''a clear statement of the principles for assessment of disturbance claims''.
 We have not had any discussion of that. There will also be 
''consistent compensation for the effect of the replacement scheme on retained land, whether or not land actually taken from an owner''.
 We have seen that already. The list goes on: 
''compensation payable for actual losses even if scheme not proceeded with''.
 That is the important point that my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner) made last time. If the acquiring authority issues a notice to acquire a 
 property from a farmer—I am using the excellent example given by my hon. Friend—but subsequently, for whatever reason, does not proceed to acquire the property, the farmer might have suffered considerable loss. Although powers exist in the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965, which I pointed out to my hon. Friend last time, the matter needs updating and clarifying. 
 The list continues: 
''all reasonable fees and unavoidable . . . taxes to be reimbursed in full''— 
we have not heard anything about that— 
''compensation for betterment offset only against severance/injurious affection''—
 I raised that with the Minister for Housing and Planning on Tuesday, and he undertook to give us a note on the subject. The list also says that there will be 
''improved provision for buying the whole site even if only part required'',
 and that is covered by the new clause. Finally, there was to be 
''improved advance payment arrangements, including for mortgaged land''.
 That was partly dealt with under the previous new clause. 
 A number of those matters are included in the clauses that we are discussing, but some are not. For the sake of the practitioners out there, this whole subject needs to be clarified. I appreciate that the Minister cannot do that this morning, and that she would probably be out of order if she did, but if she could find a way of doing so—in a written statement, for example—that would be very helpful. 
 Most practitioners have not had a chance to look at these new clauses, but I burnt the midnight oil reading them last night, and I think that the Opposition can give them a cautious welcome. They speed up and simplify the compulsory purchase process. The Government are to be congratulated on this aspect of the Bill. It is obvious that they have listened. This is a complex subject and I applaud both of the Ministers for having addressed it well. 
 I raised the issue of what happens to a property owner who is not known, or abroad, and the Minister undertook to come back to me on that. There are 753,000 empty homes in this country, and that is only the tip of the problem. There are a number of abandoned and disregarded properties. Compulsory purchase is an important matter: if it is to become more widely used by a variety of acquiring authorities, the problem of identification might grow. I would be grateful if the Minister would address that.

Andrew Turner: Will my hon. Friend assist me to understand his interpretation of the legislation? If a property was compulsorily purchased and a former owner subsequently appeared, what measures are in place to compensate such people, and, perhaps, to enable them to enjoy appropriate interest on that compensation?

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: I decided not to quote from the comments on the four matters that the Government invited further views on because I was worried that I might be ruled out of order. However, they are another reason why I want the Minister to clarify how the compulsory purchase issue should be moved forward. The first matter is
''whether there should be a time limit for submitting compensation claims and, if so, what it should be.''
 My hon. Friend has raised a pertinent point that is not included in this new clause, and which the Government will need to address. 
 I welcome the Government's clarification of the categories of people who are entitled to claim, and to be notified that an acquiring authority wishes to purchase their interest. In particular, it is right to include tenants in that category: in some cases—especially in residential property, with regard to which this matter is most sensitive—they have been in occupation for a considerable while, sometimes for decades. 
 I also welcome the written representation procedure, although we need some guidance on how that will work. I have already raised with the Minister the persons who may be disregarded. We need to know at what stage a full statement of case needs to be made, and what form it will take. I accept that that will probably be done by regulations, and this clause provides for that. I would be grateful if the Minister would offer at least an outline of what she proposes to include in those regulations, if not now, then as a note to the Committee or placed in the Library.

Yvette Cooper: Will the hon. Gentleman clarify what he has said?

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: As I understand this matter, there are two stages. An objector has to make written objections, and then the confirming authority decides whether to confirm the order. It is important that we establish what sort of written representations that person has to make at that stage and whether there must be a full statement of case. I can envisage that professional advisers would, perhaps, make a summary written representation at that stage and that the confirming authority might override the objection and confirm the order. The professional adviser would be in considerable difficulty if it were felt that he should have made a full statement of case, with proofs of evidence and everything else, at that stage. We would not want to prescribe too cumbersome a procedure. If it is not necessary to provide a full statement of case at that stage, we need to know that. The Minister must tell us when the particular detail of written representation needs to be made.
 The order in stages is a good idea that will simplify things and make them clearer for those whose property is being acquired. It will show exactly which part of their property is to be taken, and on what date. We welcome that. I understand from what the Minister said that where that type of procedure is adopted, the same system of compensation will apply as applied previously. Under the 1965 Act a person should be no worse or better off as a result of the 
 compulsory acquisition. That is the fundamental principle of compulsory purchase. If I understand it correctly, the order in stages is a thoroughly good thing. 
 These detailed new clauses would simplify and speed up the compulsory purchase procedure. The Opposition give them a cautious welcome. However, as it is such a complicated subject, perhaps the Minister could provide some clarification by whatever means he can. Because of the timing of the Bill I have not been able to obtain any guidance from practitioners or outside bodies of what they think of these new clauses. The Government are rushing the Bill through. I understand why they are doing that, but it is regrettable. Perhaps by the time the Bill reaches other stages—perhaps in the other place—practitioners will have had the chance to consider the new clauses and will come up with ideas about how they may or may not work. We give the provisions a cautious welcome.

Matthew Green: We, too, welcome the proposals, which mostly clarify parts of the compulsory procedures that have probably needed clarifying for some time. I do not want to go over the ground already covered by the hon. Member for Cotswold, but I am concerned that new clause 18 may unintentionally create an objector's charter.
 I welcome the fact that monthly and weekly tenants—the sort of people who have an interest in the land—and others with private rights of access will now have a right of objection. However, I foresee a potential problem. I am sure that hon. Members will be aware that sometimes, when people believe that compulsory purchase might happen, pieces of land are parcelled up among lots of small owners to make it difficult for the purchasing authority, which has to deal with lots of small bits of land. I foresee something similar happening. Objectors wishing to prevent a compulsory purchase could subdivide a field into one-inch squares and rent each one for a nominal sum to a large number of objectors, who would all have a statutory right of objection and, if it were not all to be done in writing, would presumably have a right to be heard. I think that that would be regarded as an unacceptable way of delaying a procedure.

Andrew Turner: That is an imaginative way to delay a procedure. Had that occurred during the Twyford Down inquiry, for example, there might now be a tunnel under it instead of the ghastly cutting through it, and my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Mr. Chope) might still represent a Southampton constituency.

Matthew Green: I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will accept that such practices may seem all very well when one is on the side of wanting to stop something, rather than wanting something to go through, but clearly they are completely unacceptable.
 I am trying to make the point that the intention should be to create a system that is fair to both sides. There is the potential in all this for determined and well organised objectors to create an unforeseen difficulty. I do not want the Government to go back 
 on what they have done to give those other people a statutory right to object, but I want to be reassured that there may be some way of dealing with broadly similar objections en bloc, rather than one by one. The Minister may be able to clarify that. 
 I especially welcome the changes to the confirmation of unopposed orders by acquiring authorities. The process of acquiring parcels of land when there appears to be no owner is slower than it needs to be. I am increasingly aware of the amount of land in my constituency that no one appears to own. There are pieces of land with access to many other properties, which people have driven across for years. When a dispute arises, however, they suddenly discover that none of the parties involved actually owns the land. 
 I have dealt with such cases a few times, one of which was at Craven Arms. A 6 ft stretch of the road leading up to the railway station at Craven Arms was crumbling away. Naturally, we told the county council to repair it. It refused, telling us that it was Railtrack's property so it was Railtrack's responsibility to carry out the work. Railtrack, however, said that its deeds said that its land finished 6 ft out. After some considerable time, it emerged that everyone believed for a very long time that it was railway property, and that British Rail probably maintained it. When British Rail transferred the railway to Railtrack, however, the transfer of deeds made it clear that it did not own that piece of land. It then took some time to acquire it. Indeed, the county council may still not have acquired it. The piece of road is used fairly regularly and continues to deteriorate; there are now large potholes in it. I welcome the proposed new clause. It makes a great deal of sense in such cases, and will not cause problems. 
 I hope that the new clauses and amendments will help the compulsory purchase system. However, will the Minister clarify whether that new clause will create an objectors' charter? We want people to have the right to object, but we do not want that right to be misused.

Sydney Chapman: I admire the expertise of my hon. Friend the Member for Cotswold on these difficult, complicated and technical matters. I was going to raise one or two points, but he has broadly raised those, so I need not detain the Committee with them.
 In summary, I must say that new clauses 18 and 19 are good clauses, as far as I understand them. I say that with the obvious caveat that I am no expert in these matters. However, I suggest to the Minister, whom I now welcome to the Committee—I had no need to intervene on the group of clauses to which she spoke on Tuesday and so did not welcome her then—that I echo my hon. Friend's request for information in answer to the queries that were understandably made. I perfectly understand that the Minister may not necessarily be able to give immediate and comprehensive answers to those questions, but answers would help not only us, but all the outside organisations that advise Members on both sides of the Committee on these very complex matters. 
 I shall comment briefly on what the hon. Member for Ludlow (Matthew Green) said about ownership of land. There are little pockets of land that everyone seeks to own if there is the possibility of compensation. However, if there are any costs involved, such as in mending fences or clearing up debris, it is always someone else's problem. I have had similar experiences in my constituency, and I am sure that other hon. Members on both sides of the Committee have too. 
 I want to echo a point that I put to the Minister for Housing and Planning, the right hon. Member for Streatham (Keith Hill)—I have to keep remembering not to say ''St. Reatham''—in relation to a different group of clauses to amend the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. New clauses 18 and 19 are very long. New clause 18 would amend virtually all sections from 6 to 13 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981, whereas new clause 19 would amend and introduce considerable addenda to schedule 1 to the 1981 Act. When the Bill goes through, it would be sensible to introduce not only a consolidated town and country planning Act, but a consolidated version of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981—I do not expect an answer to that suggestion, but some thoughts would be encouraging. That would be helpful to all those who will have to operate under the new legislation, whatever form it takes.

Yvette Cooper: My right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning advises me that he thinks that that is a great idea—long as he does not have to take the legislation through.

Sydney Chapman: I raise the issue again because I am referring to a different Act: the Acquisition of Land Act 1981. Also, if a consolidated Bill that just brings together all the strands of law that relate to that legislation is put before the House, we shall not even need a debate.

Yvette Cooper: The hon. Gentleman is right that consolidated legislation makes life considerably easier for practitioners and those who need to use the relevant Acts, and we seek to make progress on that as far as possible. However, the obvious constraint on doing so is that although it does not require a huge amount of parliamentary time, it requires an awful lot of legal time and work to put together, and we often ask the same experts and the same counsel whom we ask to work on Bills and new legislation to do that work too. I shall certainly take back the points that the hon. Gentleman has made, but he will realise that there are constraints on how rapidly we can do such things.
 The hon. Member for Cotswold asked whether the amendments before us were final or whether we intended to take the matter further. It would be wrong to say that these are the final amendments, because the Bill is being considered in Committee and we shall need to examine further points that are raised. As Bills pass through Parliament, things need to be changed, tidied up and resolved in response to issues that are raised. However, I assure the hon. Gentleman that at this stage we are not planning to introduce any new issues on the compulsory purchase front. The Law 
 Commission is currently considering many of the extremely important points that he has raised on compulsory purchase, and its final report is due at the turn of the year. Until then we cannot assess the need for new legislation or any consultation. 
 We have decided to take forward the aspects that we think most important and on which the necessary improvements are most straightforward. The Law Commission is considering the complex interrelated issues to do with compensation, and we shall respond to its recommendations in due course and decide how to take them forward. That was set out in the July 2002 policy statement, following agreement with the Law Commission.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: The Minister has clarified the position just as I understood it. Therefore I am slightly surprised that the Government have tabled the new clauses, welcome as they are, without having thought through the whole subject of compulsory purchase. The new clauses may well constrain the Law Commission in what it can recommend. I do not want to be churlish, but the new clauses seem to offer a procedure that has been only partially thought out.

Yvette Cooper: We do not expect the approach that we have taken, and matters that arise from the new clauses, to be a constraint on the Law Commission or any response that we might make to it. It has become clear from the debate in Committee that hon. Members of all parties recognise that the changes are sensible and will make life simpler, speeding up the process and making it fairer for particular groups. As we are dealing with a planning Bill, it seems right to move on with the items on which there is broad agreement and which will make things better in the short term. It is always possible for the best to be the enemy of the good and, in parliamentary terms, for the whole to be the enemy of the parts. We could delay doing sensible things until we had resolved every detail of the future of the universe. I do not think that we should do that now; it is right to introduce the measures in question.
 The hon. Member for Cotswold raised a point about abandoned properties and the hon. Member for Isle of Wight asked what would happen if an owner reappeared. If owners do not come forward, so long as reasonable attempts have been made to identify them, compulsory purchase orders can proceed. There are sometimes different procedures for dealing with the matter through the general vesting declaration. Compensation would be paid into court and could be claimed if an owner subsequently reappeared. 
 The written procedure would not disadvantage someone whose objection was disregarded. If the objection were disregarded because it was purely about compensation it would go to the Lands Tribunal, just as it currently does. The person concerned would be in exactly the same position as they would under the current arrangements. With luck, the process might be resolved considerably faster, because of the written procedure. 
 Secondary legislation, following consultations, would be needed to set out the detail and workings of the written procedures, and the method for making 
 objections. However, we have attempted to inform the Committee's deliberations in a paper setting out our broad intentions, which I believe hon. Members have now been sent, and which I have already mentioned. However, further consultation will clearly be needed before we can specify exact details. 
 To respond to what seemed to be the concern behind this question, the point is the need for clarity for all concerned. That has been the problem so far, and it is the reason why there has never been agreement on a written procedure, even though it was possible in theory. No one can agree on a case-by-case basis about what would constitute nice, clear, fair procedures that would enable everyone to know the deal and understand at what point representations would be considered or a full representation needed to be made. Statutory force is needed to provide that clarity.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: Practitioners need to know about timing. When does the Minister expect to introduce the new procedure? When does she expect to be able to produce at least a draft of the secondary legislation?

Yvette Cooper: Our rough timetable is to do so around the time of commencement. That will not take us far into the future, but the hon. Gentleman will understand that those who are to work on the detail of the consultation process and the written procedures have first to complete work on the passage of the Bill. I shall be happy to provide the hon. Gentleman with further details.
 The hon. Member for Ludlow was concerned that this might prove to be an objectors' charter. That is not the intention. Although a wide range of groups should, rightly, be able to have their objections heard, the fact that we shall have written procedures will speed the process up. As for whether somebody could subdivide land to increase the number of objectors, that could happen under the current arrangements; however many owners there are, and however small the area owned, they have the right to have their objections heard. There will be time restrictions under the new procedures, just as there are now.

Matthew Green: It would be easier for somebody to sub-let on short lets than to subdivide and sell off, because the original owner would not then own the land. I foresee a landowner who does not want his land to be compulsorily purchased rushing round finding lots of people to sub-let it to on six-month leases, thus entitling them to object. That will be a more attractive route for objectors than the former one, the sale of subdivisions of the land, which has happened in some cases.

Yvette Cooper: I guess that if the landowner were sufficiently ingenious and determined to sub-let all kinds of corners of land, that would mean more people had the right to object; it could happen. However, there will be a limit to the time in which they might submit objections and—assuming that those will not be the cases that go to written procedures, as the intention will be to spin things out—there will be a public inquiry timetable, just as there is at the moment.
 There is a limit to the additional problems that can be caused by the procedure, and they are counter-balanced by its increased fairness and the fact that it gives more people who are entitled the chance to have their objections heard. For those reasons, I believe that the new clauses are sensible and I welcome the broad support of the Committee.
 Question put and agreed to. 
 Brought up, read the Second time, and added to the Bill.

New clause 19 - Procedure for authorisation of compulsory purchase by a Minister

'(1) Schedule 1 to the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 (c.67) (the ''1981 Act'') is amended as follows. 
 (2) In paragraph 2 (notices in newspapers), after subparagraph (2) there is added— 
 ''(3) In addition, the Minister shall affix a notice in the prescribed form to a conspicuous object or objects on or near the land comprised in the draft order. 
 (4) The notice under subparagraph (3) must— 
 (a) be addressed to persons occupying or having an interest in the land, and 
 (b) set out each of the matters mentioned in subparagraph (2) (but reading the reference there to first publication of the notice as a reference to the day when the notice under subparagraph (3) is first affixed).'' 
 (3) In paragraph 3 (notices to owners, lessees and occupiers)— 
 (a) in subparagraph (1), for the words from ''owner'' to ''order'' (where it first appears) there is substituted ''qualifying person'', 
 (b) for subparagraph (2) there is substituted— 
 ''(2) A person is a qualifying person, in relation to land comprised in a draft order, if— 
 (a) he is an owner, lessee, tenant (whatever the tenancy period) or occupier of any such land, or 
 (b) he falls within subparagraph (2A). 
 (2A) A person falls within this subparagraph if he is— 
 (a) a person to whom the Minister would, if proceeding under section 5(1) of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965, be required to give a notice to treat, or 
 (b) a person the Minister thinks is likely to be entitled to make a relevant claim if the order is made and the compulsory purchase takes place, so far as he is known to the Minister after making diligent inquiry. 
 (2B) A relevant claim is a claim for compensation under section 10 of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 (compensation for injurious affection).'' 
 (4) For paragraph 4 there are substituted the following paragraphs— 
 ''4 (1) The appropriate authority may make a compulsory purchase order with or without modifications if it is satisfied— 
 (a) that the notice requirements have been complied with, and 
 (b) that one of the conditions in subparagraph (2) is satisfied. 
 (2) The conditions are— 
 (a) no relevant objection is made, 
 (b) every relevant objection made is either withdrawn or disregarded. 
 (3) The appropriate authority may require every person who makes a relevant objection to state the grounds of the objection in writing. 
 (4) If the appropriate authority is satisfied that an objection relates exclusively to matters which can be dealt with by the tribunal by whom the compensation is to be assessed it may disregard the objection. 
 (5) The notice requirements are the requirements under paragraphs 2 and 3 to publish, affix and serve notices in connection with the compulsory purchase order. 
 (6) A relevant objection is an objection by a person who is a qualifying person for the purposes of paragraph 3(2), but if such a person qualifies only by virtue of paragraph 3(2A)(b) and the appropriate authority thinks that he is not likely to be entitled to make a relevant claim his objection is not a relevant objection. 
 (7) Disregarded means disregarded under subparagraph (4) or under any other power to disregard a relevant objection contained in the enactment providing for the compulsory purchase. 
 (8) The appropriate authority is— 
 (a) in the case of an order proposed to be made in the exercise of highway land acquisition powers, the Minister and the planning Minister acting jointly, 
 (b) in any other case, the Minister. 
 (9) Highway land acquisition powers must be construed in accordance with the Highways Act 1980. 
 (10) The planning Minister is the Secretary of State for the time being having general responsibility in planning matters. 
 4A (1) This paragraph applies to the making of a compulsory purchase order if a relevant objection is made which is neither— 
 (a) withdrawn, nor 
 (b) disregarded, 
 (a remaining objection). 
 (2) The appropriate authority may proceed under the written representations procedure— 
 (a) if the order is not subject to special parliamentary procedure; 
 (b) in the case of an order to which section 16 applies, if a certificate has been given under subsection (2) of that section, and 
 (c) if every person who has made a remaining objection consents in the prescribed manner. 
 (3) If subparagraph (2) does not apply or if the appropriate authority decides not to proceed under that subparagraph, it must either— 
 (a) cause a public local inquiry to be held, or 
 (b) give every person who has made a remaining objection an opportunity of appearing before and being heard by a person appointed by the appropriate authority for the purpose. 
 (4) If a person who has made a remaining objection takes the opportunity to appear before a person appointed under subparagraph (3)(b) the appropriate authority must give any other person it thinks appropriate the opportunity to be heard at the same time. 
 (5) The appropriate authority may make the order with or without modifications if it has considered the objection and either— 
 (a) it has followed the written representations procedure, or 
 (b) in a case which falls within subparagraph (3), if an inquiry was held or a person was appointed under subparagraph (3)(b), it has considered the report of the person who held the inquiry or who was so appointed. 
 (6) The written representations procedure is such procedure as is prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph including provision affording an opportunity to— 
 (a) every person who has made a remaining objection, and 
 (b) any other person the appropriate authority thinks appropriate, 
 to make written representations as to whether the order should be made. 
 (7) Regulations under subparagraph (6) may make provision as to the giving of reasons for decisions taken in cases where the written representations procedure is followed. 
 (8) Expressions used in this paragraph and in paragraph 4 must be construed in accordance with paragraph 4. 
 4B (1) The appropriate authority may make an order (with or without modifications) so far as it relates to part of the land comprised in the draft order (the ''relevant part'') if each of the conditions in subparagraph (2) is met. 
 (2) The conditions are— 
 (a) the appropriate authority is satisfied that the order ought to be made so far as it relates to the relevant part but has not for the time being determined whether the order ought to be made so far as it relates to the remaining part, 
 (b) the appropriate authority is satisfied that the notice requirements have been complied with. 
 (3) If there is a remaining objection in respect of the order, the appropriate authority may only act under subparagraph (1) after complying with paragraph 4A(2) or (3) (as the case may be). 
 (4) But it may act under subparagraph (1) without complying with those provisions if it is satisfied that all remaining objections relate solely to the remaining part of the land. 
 (5) If the appropriate authority acts under subparagraph (1)— 
 (a) it must give a direction postponing consideration of the order, so far as it relates to the remaining part, until such time as may be specified by or under the direction, 
 (b) the order so far as it relates to each part of the land must be treated as a separate order. 
 (6) The notices to be published, affixed and served under paragraph 6 must include a statement as to the effect of the direction given under subparagraph (5)(a). 
 (7) Expressions used in this paragraph and in paragraph 4 or 4A must be construed in accordance with paragraph 4 or 4A (as the case may be).'' 
 (5) For paragraph 6 there is substituted— 
 ''6 (1) After the order has been made, the Minister must— 
 (a) serve a making notice, and a copy of the order as made, on each person on whom a notice was required to be served under paragraph 3, and 
 (b) affix a making notice to a conspicuous object or objects on or near the land comprised in the order. 
 (2) The notice under subparagraph (1)(b) must— 
 (a) be addressed to persons occupying or having an interest in the land; 
 (b) so far as practicable, be kept in place by the acquiring authority until the expiry of a period of six weeks beginning with the date when the order becomes operative. 
 (3) The Minister must also publish a making notice in one or more local newspapers circulating in the locality in which the land comprised in the order is situated. 
 (4) A making notice is a notice— 
 (a) describing the land; 
 (b) stating that the order has been made; 
 (c) (except in the case of a notice under subparagraph (1)(a)) naming a place where a copy of the order as made and of the map referred to there may be inspected at all reasonable hours; 
 (d) that a person aggrieved by the order may apply to the High Court as mentioned in section 23. 
 (5) A making notice must be in the prescribed form.'' 
 (6) The amendments made by this section do not apply to orders of which notice under paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to the 1981 Act has been published before commencement of this section.'.—[Yvette Cooper.]
 Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

New clause 20 - Power to require information

'(1) The Acquisition of Land Act 1981 (c.67) is amended as follows. 
 (2) After section 5 (local inquiries) there is inserted— 
 ''5A Power to require information 
 (1) This section applies to information about land in relation to which an acquiring authority is entitled to exercise a power of compulsory purchase. 
 (2) The acquiring authority may serve a notice on a person mentioned in subsection (4) requiring him to give to the authority in writing the following information— 
 (a) the name and address of any person he believes to be an owner, lessee, tenant (whatever the tenancy period) or occupier of the land, 
 (b) the name and address of any person he believes to have an interest in the land. 
 (3) The power in subsection (2) is exercisable for the purpose of enabling the acquiring authority to acquire the land. 
 (4) The persons are— 
 (a) the occupier of the land, 
 (b) any person who has an interest in the land either as freeholder, mortgagee or lessee, 
 (c) any person who directly or indirectly receives rent for the land, 
 (d) any person who, in pursuance of an agreement between himself and a person interested in the land, is authorised to manage the land or to arrange for the letting of it. 
 (5) The notice must specify the period within which the information must be given to the acquiring authority (being a period of not less than 14 days beginning with the day on which the notice is served). 
 (6) The notice must also specify or describe— 
 (a) the land, 
 (b) the compulsory purchase power, and 
 (c) the enactment which confers the power. 
 (7) The notice must be in writing. 
 (8) Section 6(4) does not apply to notices to be served under this section. 
 5B Offences relating to information 
 (1) A person commits an offence if he fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a notice served on him under section 5A. 
 (2) A person commits an offence if, in response to a notice served on him under section 5A— 
 (a) he gives information which is false in a material particular, and 
 (b) when he does so, he knows or ought reasonably to know that the information is false. 
 (3) If an offence under this section committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of— 
 (a) a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or 
 (b) a person purporting to act in any such capacity, 
 he, as well as the body corporate, is guilty of that offence and liable to be proceeded against accordingly. 
 (4) The reference in subsection (3) to a director must be construed in accordance with section 331(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. 
 (5) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.''.'.—[Keith Hill.]
 Brought up, and read the First time.

Keith Hill: I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

Alan Hurst: With this it will be convenient to discuss the following amendment thereto: (a), in proposed new section 5B(3)(a) of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981, after 'secretary', insert 'councillor'.

Keith Hill: We now come to the matter raised by the hon. Member for Cotswold: how information about interest should be acquired. An authority seeking to acquire land needs to know the names and addresses of those occupying and having an interest in that land in order to be able to enter into negotiations to purchase by agreement. It is also necessary to have that information if the authority seeks to acquire the land compulsorily, because it is required to serve notice of the making of the compulsory purchase order on such persons. Correctly ascertaining those interests in the land at an early stage must be fairer for the persons affected. The authority can inform them of its intentions and try to negotiate a purchase by agreement. It saves time if the authority can have confidence in the information that it has gathered, and helps to ensure that the compulsory purchase order is prepared correctly, including serving the appropriate notices on all the right people.
 Some acquiring authorities already have powers to require such information. Such powers usually do not extend to requiring information about all interests in land. In view of the extended categories of persons to be served with notice of the making of the CPO under new clause 18, which we have already discussed and included in the Bill, such powers may be inadequate. Other acquiring authorities, including the regional development agencies, the urban regeneration agency—English Partnerships—and urban development corporations, have no such power. Despite the fact that much of the land that they may need to assemble will be on brownfield sites, where ownership and occupation details are likely to be complex, there is no obvious reason for that inconsistency, which can impede the compulsory purchase process. 
 For completeness, I ought to add that for land in unknown ownership all is not lost. There is a statutory procedure for the service of notices at the making of a CPO under section 6(4) of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981, referred to by the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Sir Sydney Chapman). However, before resorting to that procedure, the acquiring authority must first be satisfied that reasonable inquiry has been made and that it is not practicable to ascertain the name and address of an owner, lessee or occupier. Without a statutory power to requisition for information, such an inquiry can cause considerable delay. The amendment therefore introduces a new section into the 1981 Act to enable all acquiring authorities to require information for the purposes of acquiring land or new rights over land in cases where the provisions of that Act apply. That does not mean that land necessarily has to be compulsorily acquired or even acquired by agreement. However, the power to obtain the names and addresses may be exercised only for the purpose of enabling the authority to acquire the land in question. 
 The acquiring authorities' notice has to be in writing and must set a deadline for a response, which must also be in writing. The range of people on whom such a notice can be served is limited to the occupiers of that land, any freeholders, mortgagees or lessees, the recipient of rent for the land and anyone who manages the land under an agreement with someone else who has an interest in it. The notice requires details to be provided of anyone whom the recipient believes to be an owner, lessee or occupier of the land, or to have another interest in it. Failure to comply with such a notice without reasonable excuse is to be an offence. It will also be an offence for a person responding to the notice served on him to give information that is false in a material particular that he either knows is false or ought reasonably to know is false. 
 If either offence is committed by a body corporate with the consent or connivance of certain officers, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of officers of the body corporate, that officer will also be guilty of the offence. Such an officer may be a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer. Both offences are to be summary, with a level 5 fine on the standard scale: currently a maximum of £5,000.

Andrew Turner: On a point of order, Mr. Hurst. May I inquire at what point I should move amendment (a)?

Alan Hurst: You should speak during the debate on the second reading of the new clause, but if you wish to move the amendment you should do so between the second reading of the clause and its being added to the Bill.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: The Opposition broadly welcome new clause 20. It is essential to acquire accurate and correct information. I note, however, that interestingly, in our previous discussions, the Crown was by and large exempted from providing such information. It is a slight paradox that individuals should be required to provide such information, yet the Crown should not necessarily be so required. I mention that in passing.
 The Minister mentioned the Acquisition of Land Act 1981. The provisions of section 6(4) are worded in an interesting way, which the House must have approved, but it is quite ambiguous. It talks about the document being served by addressing it to the 
'' 'owner', 'lessee' or 'occupier' of the land (describing it) to which it relates, by delivering to some person on the premises or, if there is no person on the premises to whom it may be delivered''—
 this is the interesting bit— 
''by affixing it or a copy of it''
 on or near the land. Under that provision, someone could drop a copy somewhere on a field, and it might be blown away. The Minister is absolutely right to clarify the position. The document should be well and truly attached in a prominent place. We therefore welcome the clarification proposed in the new clause. 
 I turn to proposed new section 5B and the matter of corporate offences—a subject that my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight addresses in amendment (a). 
 It seems to me that the whole of subsection (3) could have been amazingly simplified if it had been worded thus: ''Offences under this section by corporations shall be construed to have the same meaning as in section 331 in the principal Act.'' That would have obviated the need for the whole of subsection (3), which largely repeats what is in the principal Act. I am making a minor and gentle criticism of the drafting. I sometimes think that parliamentary draftsmen like to put the maximum number of words on a page; I think that they should be paid for using the fewest words needed to achieve the desired result. 
 I must say to my hon. Friend that having looked at the subsection I see no need for amendment (a), because the subsection deals with corporate offences. I do not think that elected authorities come into that category, and I am not sure that my hon. Friend's amendment is relevant. However, he will make his own case for it. 
 The Opposition welcome the new clause. It forms part of the compensation package, which we welcome.

Andrew Turner: I am grateful for the pointer offered by my hon. Friend on how I might explain my amendment. I am sure that the Minister will correct me if I am wrong, but I assume in amendment (a) that a local authority is a body corporate. If so, certain people are clearly responsible for running it, and responsible for the information that may be provided by that body corporate in response to such an invitation. Many of the executive responsibilities of local authorities now rest with members, not with directors, managers, secretaries or other similar officers. An executive member of a local authority may respond—and certainly may consent to or connive in—a response to an invitation to provide information.
 The amendment is intended to elicit whether the Government are confident that those in a local authority who use their executive power to consent or connive in an offence under the clause would be caught. The amendment would ensure that a councillor doing so would be caught—at least, that it is the intention.

Matthew Green: I welcome the new clause. However, I want to discuss the amendment. It is a shame that the Minister has not yet clarified whether ''body corporate'' includes local authorities; the two Conservative Members who have spoken disagree about that. I shall speak on the assumption that it might include local authorities.
 I have some sympathy with what the hon. Gentleman says. However, I would have even more sympathy if councillors were not constrained in other ways. At the moment, because of the behaviour of the Standards Board for England and the effect of the code of conduct, in many cases councillors are tried twice for the same offence. I am concerned about the possibility that another context may now arise in which that happens. I do not want to go into detail, because I hope that Mr. Speaker will allow me an Adjournment debate on the subject at some point. However, I can foresee a situation in which a councillor might be found guilty under the clause, 
 and then be reported to the Standards Board and perhaps suspended from the council; a second penalty would be imposed. 
 My concern is not that the clause is not the right approach. It probably is. We probably need to remove the consequential effects with reference to the Standards Board. If the provision applies to local authorities I shall be interested to hear the Minister explain whether councillors should be tried twice for the same offence, as happens now in other contexts.

Sydney Chapman: I want to make a different point about new clause 20. However, first I must say that I share, very emotionally, the view of my hon. Friend the Member for Cotswold that Bills should be kept to the minimum necessary length. The more complex the Bill, the truer that is. Shortness is a good thing—although of course Back-Bench speeches in Committee are an exception from that rule.
 Keeping in mind what I see as the central principle of the Bill—to speed up the planning and compulsory purchase process without sacrificing the rights of individuals or the fairness of the system—I draw the Minister's attention to subsection (5) of the new section 5A that new clause 20 would insert into the Acquisition of Land Act 1981: 
''The notice must specify the period within which the information must be given to the acquiring authority (being a period of not less than 14 days beginning with the day on which the notice is served).''
 I am all for speeding up the compulsory purchase process, but I wonder whether 14 days is an unfairly short time. I know that the phrase used is 
''not less than 14 days'',
 but I am long enough in the tooth, at least in relation to town and country planning laws, to know that the minimum becomes the maximum for the authority serving the notice or deciding the issues. 
 I do not know whether other members of the Committee have encountered the same complaints as I have, particularly around August, when people write bitterly to their MP to say that the local planning authority served notice of a planning proposal when it knew that everyone would be away on their fortnight's holiday.

Matthew Green: The hon. Gentleman has hit on a good point. One of the relevant categories is the occupier of the land, which could mean a tenant, who might well be away on holiday for more than 14 days. That would be very unfortunate. The period of 14 days is probably fair for a former utility, for example, but allowance should be made for the circumstances of individuals.

Sydney Chapman: I am glad to have the hon. Gentleman's support. In fairness, a period longer than 14 days should be specified, for the reason that I gave. Furthermore, it is a good thing to simplify procedure as far as possible. I do not claim to know about compulsory acquisitions or compensation, but my experience of the town and country planning legislation is that often, if an appeal is made to the Secretary of State and an inspector is called after a local planning authority has turned down an
 application, one is usually asked to make a representation within 28 days or, in some cases, six weeks.
 For the sake of simplicity, I ask the Minister seriously to consider the possibility of changing the minimum requirement of 14 days to, say, 28. I hope that he acts constructively on that suggestion, which is entirely meant to be helpful.

Keith Hill: I am grateful to members of the Committee for the spirit in which they have addressed this matter and for their broad support for these very reasonable proposals. The point made by the hon. Member for Cotswold shows there is agreement across the water on the need for conciseness in drafting legislation. On his critique of proposed new section 5B(3), however, I must say to him that it is needed, as it refers to section 331 of the 1990 Act, not to the Acquisition of Land Act 1981.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: I may have skirted very quickly over proposed new section 5B(3), but I hope that Hansard will show, if I read out my notes correctly, that I said that it has the same meaning as section 331 of the principal Act. I anticipated that the Minister would not like my solution—Governments do not often like new solutions—but I believe that if he examines it he will see that it might work.

Keith Hill: I shall reconsider the hon. Gentleman's solution, but I stick to the line that I adopted a couple of years ago that the principal Act in question is the 1990 Act.
 I am perfectly happy for the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet to refer to me as the hon. Member for St. Reatham—we are trying to be up-market. He made a reasonable point about the period of 14 days' notice, within which information must be given. I shall attempt to reassure him by pointing out that this time is allowed for providing factual information, not for further action. It identifies the minimum period, which in most circumstances is quite likely to be longer. There is a precedent for this in section 16 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, which contains a similar power. Allowing 14 days is therefore well established. 
 On the amendment moved by the hon. Member for Isle of Wight, to which the hon. Member for Ludlow referred, both hon. Gentlemen asked whether a local authority is a body corporate. The answer is yes. The hon. Member for Isle of Wight also asked whether a councillor might be caught by the provisions. The answer is no, or not directly, for reasons that I shall attempt to explain. Generally speaking, councillors cannot discharge local authority functions individually. Where a councillor is responsible, it should be for the courts to decide whether he or she can be said to be a person who falls into any of the categories in section 5B(3)—that is, a person purporting to act in the capacity of a director, manager, secretary or similar officer.

Alan Whitehead: I hear what my right hon. Friend says about the section, but does that line of argument apply across the board to the different executive functions allowed for by the Local Government Act 2000, which, coincidentally, I
 happen to have in front of me, and specifically to an elected mayor, who has an executive function and authority over and above other councillors?

Keith Hill: The most obvious answer is that an elected mayor is not a councillor and so would not be caught by the amendment.

Matthew Green: I think the Minister has confirmed the fact that without the amendment a court could in certain circumstances regard a councillor as having come within the meaning of the relevant provisions. Will he therefore confirm that we are considering another situation in which a councillor could be tried twice for the same offence? I am sure that a court's decision that a councillor had committed such an offence would automatically have to be reported to the standards board, which would undertake a second investigation of that councillor. Can he confirm that I am correct?

Keith Hill: I regret to say that I am not willing to pursue the hon. Gentleman down that path and ex cathedra make a commitment on whether a councillor would be subject to double jeopardy in that situation. We are on speculative terrain—this is a classic case of whatifery from him—and I am content to rest on my observation that the matter is essentially for the courts to decide.

Andrew Turner: May I summarise my understanding of what the Minister said? He said that the new clause will not generally catch a councillor, but that the courts may interpret it if they think that a councillor is acting as a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer. I am not sure whether that means exercising an executive function, which is what I understand councillors to be capable of under the modernised council procedures.

Keith Hill: We all need to be a little careful when discussing such matters as to what commitments we make vis-à-vis the courts. My judgment would be that a councillor in an executive capacity nevertheless continues to act on behalf of the collective entity that is the local authority, and is to that extent deemed in any normal circumstances to be acting as part of a collective entity, not individually. To that extent, the councillor is not discharging an individual function and is not ''purporting to act'' in the capacity of a director, manager, secretary or similar officer.

Alan Whitehead: I am sorry to pursue the matter in this way, but although an elected mayor is not a councillor, an elected mayor nevertheless has a different executive capacity from that of an officer of the council as implied by the proposed provisions. We should bear in mind the principle of Occam's razor, which the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet enunciated, so would it not be a good idea to use in the proposal words such as ''neglect on the part of any person purporting to act in the capacity of officer or director of a body corporate''? We could cut out proposed new section 5B(3)(a) and (b), and have just one line that the courts would then judge.

Keith Hill: I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who is constructive as ever. He raises an interesting new
 subject—the precise position of an elected mayor. We will look at the matter, and I will let the Committee have a note containing our views. It is always possible to raise the issue at a later stage.
 I thank the hon. Member for Isle of Wight for raising an interesting and important subject, but I urge him to withdraw his amendment.

Andrew Turner: I am happy to do so, given those assurances.

Alan Hurst: Order. Strictly, the position is that the amendment has not been moved so it cannot be withdrawn, although I think that we understand the hon. Gentleman's intention.
 Question put and agreed to. 
 Clause read a Second time, and added to the Bill.

New clause 21 - Confirmation by acquiring authority

'(1) The Acquisition of Land Act 1981 (c.67) (the ''1981 Act'') is amended as follows. 
 (2) After section 14 there is inserted— 
 ''14A Confirmation by acquiring authority 
 (1) The power to confirm an order may be exercised by the acquiring authority (instead of the confirming authority) if— 
 (a) the confirming authority has notified the acquiring authority to that effect, and 
 (b) the notice has not been revoked. 
 (2) But this section does not apply to an order in respect of land— 
 (a) falling within section 16(1) or paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 3, or 
 (b) forming part of a common, open space or fuel or field garden allotment for the purposes of section 19. 
 (3) The confirming authority may give notice under subsection (1) if it is satisfied— 
 (a) that the notice requirements have been complied with, 
 (b) that no objection has been made in relation to the proposed confirmation or that all objections have been withdrawn, and 
 (c) that the order is capable of being confirmed without modification. 
 (4) An objection is an objection made by any person (whether or not a person mentioned in section 12(2)), including an objection which is disregarded. 
 (5) The power to confirm an order under subsection (1) does not include any power— 
 (a) to confirm the order with modifications, or 
 (b) to confirm only a part of the order. 
 (6) The acquiring authority must notify the confirming authority as soon as reasonably practicable after it has determined whether or not to confirm the order. 
 (7) The confirming authority may revoke a notice given by it under subsection (1). 
 (8) But a notice may not be revoked if the determination has already been made and notified by the acquiring authority under subsection (6). 
 (9) An order confirmed by the acquiring authority under subsection (1) is to have the same effect as if it were confirmed by the confirming authority. 
 (10) Notices under this section must be in writing. 
 (11) Notice requirements and disregarded must be construed in accordance with section 13.'' 
 (3) The amendments made by this section do not apply to orders of which notice has been published under section 11 of the 1981 Act before commencement of this section.'.—[Yvette Cooper.]
 Brought up, and read the First time.

Yvette Cooper: I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
 New clause 21 inserts new section 14A into the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 to enable a confirming authority to transfer to the acquiring authority the power to decide whether to confirm an unopposed compulsory purchase order. Subsections (2) and (3) of new section 14A limit the circumstances in which that transfer can be made.

Sydney Chapman: I dare to intervene at this point because what I have to say is directly related to subsection (2). Paragraph (b) says:
''forming part of a common, open space or fuel or field garden allotment''.
 What is meant by ''or fuel''? I do not understand.

Yvette Cooper: I asked exactly the same question when I saw the provisions. I understand that the reference is to a
''fuel or field garden allotment''
 rather than to ''fuel'' and then to a ''field garden allotment''. I am advised that field garden allotments are a specific kind of allotment, and have a long history. I do not think that the provisions will apply in many circumstances. I will ensure that the hon. Gentleman has further details on the subject. They are a specific group of cases for which different procedures apply. Whenever anyone wants to go through the compulsory purchase order process in relation to fuel or field garden allotments, there are different procedures to be gone through—just as with common land or open spaces. That is why they are grouped together with the fuel or field garden allotments. 
 I should like to say a little more about subsection (2) in general, which might explain the reasons for the provisions. The approach is to exclude compulsory purchase orders in the case of land for which additional procedures may apply involving, for example, the Minister responsible for the policy or special parliamentary procedures. Because those cases will be dependent on people's decisions in other places or because other processes may need to be gone through, it does not make sense simply to be able to transfer those confirmations back to the acquiring authority. 
 Subsection (2) also excludes compulsory purchase orders involving statutory undertakers—in other words, the utilities—in cases when they argue that the land is needed for operational purposes. Again, those may well involve ministerial decisions and other procedures that need to be gone through. 
 Subsection (3) limits the scope for giving an acquiring authority the power to confirm its own compulsory purchase order to cases where there are no outstanding objections and where the order can be confirmed without modification. It also requires the confirming order to be satisfied that all the necessary statutory requirements as to the service and 
 publication of notices have been complied with before contemplating the transfer. The confirming authority will retain confirmation in a series of cases, where, for example, notices have not been complied with, there are objections, or modifications are needed. In all those cases, a judgment may need to be made about whether things have been handled fairly and about what is the balance. In such circumstances, it would not be appropriate for the acquiring authority to make that judgment, because it could be argued that it is not an unbiased judge. Therefore, the confirmation power must lie elsewhere. 
 The new provision will, even with those restrictions, help to speed up the confirmation of compulsory purchase orders by enabling the confirming authority to give the power of confirmation to the acquiring authority. We also hope that it will provide an incentive that encourages acquiring authorities to prepare compulsory purchase orders carefully, so that they may confirm those themselves. In doing that, they must take care, and ensure that no technical modifications become necessary as a result of errors. We also hope that the provision will encourage acquiring authorities to consult those who are affected by their scheme and discuss with them from an early stage the proposals and any concerns. That will minimise the risk of formal objections once the order is made. Those steps will help to speed up the confirmation process and make it less stressful for those whose land is required. 
 Subsections (7) and (8) allow the confirming authority to revoke the transfer at any time until the acquiring authority sends the notification. That might become necessary, for example, if the confirming authority received a late objection raising important issues, or if the acquiring authority failed to take any action towards confirmation after a reasonable period of time had elapsed and those affected by the order made representations to the confirming authority about the delay and consequent uncertainty. The procedure is sensible. We hope that it will help to speed up the process in the most straightforward cases that could be handled in such a way.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: Perhaps I can help my hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet. On reading the paragraph that deals with ''fuel'', I, too, thought that it was a mistake. That paragraph arises from section 19 of the principal Act, which deals with commons and open spaces. Under subsection (4) a
''fuel or field garden allotment''
 means any allotment set out as a fuel allotment, or a field garden allotment, under the Inclosure Acts 1845 and 1842. [Interruption.] I was not intending to get at my hon. Friend—I am merely trying to help him. That subsection was intended to apply to such things as opencast coal mines, electricity apparatus and underground storage, including gas storage, and so forth, as was made clear.

Sydney Chapman: My hon. Friend will be interested to know that fuel allotments have not yet reached Chipping Barnet. I am sure that they will set the place alight when they do.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: My hon. Friend may not be aware of them—they may be so secret that they do not exist. We have, of course, discussed that already.
 Seriously, though, we welcome new clause 21, but I should like to ask the Minister one question. The new clause is, in a sense, making it easier for an acquiring authority to operate a compulsory purchase order. We must be careful where people's interests are being compulsorily acquired. Although that is a serious matter, we have not touched on the principles of compulsory purchase this morning. Where we are making it easier, we should build appropriate safeguards into the legislation that we are making. I am concerned that subsection (4) says: 
''An objection is made by any person (whether or not a person mentioned in section 12(2)), including an objection which is disregarded.''
 I accepted the explanation when we discussed it in a different context under 12(2), but where we are making it easier for an acquiring authority to operate, and if there is any objection, the acquiring authority should not have the power—it should go to a confirming authority. Perhaps the Minister will consider that carefully. I am a little bit concerned about that subsection.

Yvette Cooper: Let me clarify what I understand to be the position with regard to the point that the hon. Gentleman raised. I will be happy to look further into the matter if that is necessary.
 First, where objections are disregarded because they are to do with compensation rather than the nature of the compulsory purchase order, the consultation process takes place in exactly the same way, so people's interests are not harmed at all by the decision for the confirming authority to pass it back to the acquiring authority. Secondly, we have structured this clause differently, so that there is a fresh approach from that which was previously taken. We are not simply referring to there being remaining objections from those who have a statutory authority. One cannot transfer the confirming power back to the acquiring authority even if there is an objection—including one that has been disregarded. Subsection (4) states: 
''An objection is an objection made by any person (whether or not a person mentioned in section 12(2)), including an objection which is disregarded.''
 The new clause does what the hon. Gentleman wants it to do. When people's interests are being balanced, it is important that a proper independent judgment is taken. We would not want concerns to be raised that a judgment was being made about people's interests by someone who was effectively a party to that judgment or had an interest. That was the reason for making it more difficult to transfer confirming power back to the acquiring authority in these circumstances. 
 Question put and agreed to. 
 Clause read a Second time, and added to the Bill.

New clause 37 - Enforcement in relation to Crown land:

'(1) In the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (c.8), section 245 (exercise of powers in relation to Crown land) is omitted. 
 (2) After section 245 there is inserted the following section— 
 ''245A Enforcement in relation to the Crown 
 (1) No act or omission done or suffered by or on behalf of the Crown constitutes an offence under this Act. 
 (2) A planning authority must not take any step for the purposes of enforcement in relation to Crown land unless it has the consent of the appropriate authority. 
 (3) The appropriate authority may give consent under subsection (2) subject to such conditions as it thinks appropriate. 
 (4) A step taken for the purposes of enforcement is anything done in connection with the enforcement of anything required to be done or prohibited by or under this Act. 
 (5) A step taken for the purposes of enforcement includes— 
 (a) entering land, 
 (b) initiating proceedings, 
 (c) the making of an application. 
 (6) A step taken for the purposes of enforcement does not include— 
 (a) service of a notice, 
 (b) the making of an order (other than a court order).''. 
 (3) In the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (c.8), after section 245A (inserted by subsection (2) above) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''245B References to an interest in land 
 (1) Subsection (2) applies to the extent that an interest in land is a Crown interest. 
 (2) Anything which requires or is permitted to be done by or in relation to the owner of the interest in land must be done by or in relation to the appropriate authority. 
 (3) An interest in land includes an interest only as occupier of the land.''. 
 (4) In the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 (c.9) after section 73D (inserted by Schedule (Crown application: Scotland)) there are inserted the following sections— 
 ''73E Enforcement in relation to the Crown 
 (1) No act or omission done or suffered by or on behalf of the Crown constitutes an offence under this Act. 
 (2) A planning authority must not take any step for the purposes of enforcement in relation to Crown land unless it has the consent of the appropriate authority. 
 (3) The appropriate authority may give consent under subsection (2) subject to such conditions as it thinks appropriate. 
 (4) A step taken for the purposes of enforcement is anything done in connection with the enforcement of anything required to be done or prohibited by or under this Act. 
 (5) A step taken for the purposes of enforcement includes— 
 (a) entering land, 
 (b) initiating proceedings, 
 (c) the making of an application. 
 (6) A step taken for the purposes of enforcement does not include— 
 (a) service of a notice, 
 (b) the making of an order (other than a court order). 
 73F Reference to an interest in land 
 (1) Subsection (2) applies to the extent that an interest in land is a Crown interest. 
 (2) Anything which requires or is permitted to be done by or in relation to the owner of the interest in land must be done by or in relation to the appropriate authority. 
 (3) An interest in land includes an interest only as occupier of the land.''. 
 (5) In the Planning (Hazardous Substances) (Scotland) Act 1997, after section 30A (inserted by section (Crown application of Scottish planning Acts)(3)) there are inserted the following sections— 
 ''30B Enforcement in relation to the Crown 
 (1) No act or omission done or suffered by or on behalf of the Crown constitutes an offence under this Act. 
 (2) A planning authority must not take any step for the purposes of enforcement in relation to Crown land unless it has the consent of the appropriate authority. 
 (3) The appropriate authority may give consent under subsection (2) subject to such conditions as it thinks appropriate. 
 (4) A step taken for the purposes of enforcement is anything done in connection with the enforcement of anything required to be done or prohibited by or under this Act. 
 (5) A step taken for the purposes of enforcement includes— 
 (a) entering land, 
 (b) initiating proceedings, 
 (c) the making of an application. 
 (6) A step taken for the purposes of enforcement does not include— 
 (a) service of a notice, 
 (b) the making of an order (other than a court order). 
 30C Reference to an interest in land 
 (1) Subsection (2) applies to the extent that an interest in land is a Crown interest. 
 (2) Anything which requires or is permitted to be done by or in relation to the owner of the interest in land must be done by or in relation to the appropriate authority. 
 (3) An interest in land includes an interest only as occupier of the land.''.'—[Yvette Cooper.]
 Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

New clause 38 - Urgent Crown development: Scotland

'(1) In the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (c.8), before section 243 (control of development on Crown land: special enforcement notices) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''242A Urgent Crown development: application 
 (1) This section applies to a development if the appropriate authority certifies— 
 (a) that the development is of national importance, and 
 (b) that it is necessary that the development is carried out as a matter of urgency. 
 (2) The appropriate authority may, instead of making an application for planning permission to the planning authority in accordance with Part 3, make an application for planning permission to the Scottish Ministers under this section. 
 (3) If the appropriate authority proposes to make the application to the Scottish Ministers, it must publish in one or more newspapers circulating in the locality of the proposed development a notice— 
 (a) describing the proposed development, and 
 (b) stating that the authority proposes to make the application to the Scottish Ministers. 
 (4) For the purposes of an application under this section the appropriate authority must provide to the Scottish Ministers— 
 (a) any matter required to be provided by an applicant for planning permission in pursuance of regulations made under section 40, 
 (b) a statement of the authority's grounds for making the application. 
 (5) If the appropriate authority makes an application under this section subsections (6) to (10) below apply. 
 (6) The Scottish Ministers may require the authority to provide them with such further information as they think necessary to enable them to determine the application. 
 (7) As soon as practicable after they are provided with any document or other matter in pursuance of subsection (4) or (6) the Scottish Ministers must make a copy of the document or other matter available for inspection by the public in the locality of the proposed development. 
 (8) The Scottish Ministers must in accordance with such requirements as may be prescribed publish notice of the application and of the fact that such documents and other material are available for inspection. 
 (9) The Scottish Ministers must consult— 
 (a) the planning authority, and 
 (b) such other persons as may be prescribed, 
 about the application. 
 (10) Subsections (4) to (7) of section 46 apply to an application under this section as they apply to an application in respect of which a direction under section 46 has effect.''. 
 (2) In section 237 of that Act, (validity of certain matters) in subsection (3) at the end there is added the following paragraph— 
 ''(i) any decision on an application for planning permission under section 242A.''.'.—[Yvette Cooper.]
 Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

New clause 39 - Urgent works relating to Crown land:

'(1) 'In the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 (c.9), after section 73A (inserted by section (Crown application of Scottish planning Acts)(2)) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''73B Urgent works relating to Crown land: application 
 (1) This section applies to any works proposed to be executed in connection with any building which is on Crown land if the appropriate authority certifies— 
 (a) that the works are of national importance, and 
 (b) that it is necessary that the works are carried out as a matter of urgency. 
 (2) The appropriate authority may, instead of making an application for consent to the planning authority in accordance with this Act, make an application for consent to the Scottish Ministers under this section. 
 (3) If the appropriate authority proposes to make the application to the Scottish Ministers it must publish in one or more newspapers circulating in the locality of the building a notice— 
 (a) describing the proposed works, and 
 (b) stating that the authority proposes to make the application to the Scottish Ministers. 
 (4) For the purposes of an application under this section the appropriate authority must provide to the Scottish Ministers a statement of the authority's grounds for making the application. 
 (5) If the appropriate authority makes an application under this section subsections (6) to (10) below apply. 
 (6) The Scottish Ministers may require the authority to provide them with such further information as they think necessary to enable them to determine the application. 
 (7) As soon as practicable after they are provided with any document or other matter in pursuance of subsection (4) or (6) the Scottish Ministers must make a copy of the document or other matter available for inspection by the public in the locality of the proposed development. 
 (8) The Scottish Ministers must in accordance with such requirements as may be prescribed publish notice of the application and of the fact that such documents and other material are available for inspection. 
 (9) The Scottish Ministers must consult— 
 (a) the planning authority, and 
 (b) such other persons as may be prescribed, 
 about the application. 
 (10) Subsections (4) and (5) of section 11 apply to an application under this section as they apply to an application in respect of which a direction under section 11 has effect.''. 
 (2) In section 57 of that Act (validity of certain matters), in subsection (2) at the end there is added the following paragraph— 
 ''(d) any decision on an application for listed buildings consent under section 73A.''.'.—[Yvette Cooper.]
 Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

New clause 40 - Special provision for certain circumstances where disclosure of information as to national security may occur: Scotland

'(1) In the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (c.8), there is inserted after section 265 (local inquiries) the following section— 
 ''265A Planning inquiries to be held in public subject to certain exceptions 
 (1) This section applies to any inquiry held under section 265(1), paragraph 6 of Schedule 4, paragraph 5 of Schedule 6 or paragraph 8 of Schedule 7. 
 (2) Subject to subsection (3), at any such inquiry oral evidence shall be heard in public and documentary evidence shall be open to public inspection. 
 (3) If the Secretary of State is, or after consultation with the Secretary of State the Scottish Ministers are, satisfied in the case of any such inquiry— 
 (a) that giving evidence of a particular description or, as the case may be, making it available for inspection would be likely to result in the disclosure of information as to any of the matters mentioned in subsection (4), and 
 (b) that the public disclosure of that information would be contrary to the national interest, 
 he or as the case may be they may direct that evidence of the description indicated in the direction shall only be heard or, as the case may be, open to inspection at that inquiry by such persons, or persons of such descriptions, as may be specified in the direction. 
 (4) The matters referred to in subsection (3)(a) are— 
 (a) national security, and 
 (b) the measures taken, or to be taken, to ensure the security of any premises or property. 
 (5) If the Secretary of State is, or the Scottish Ministers are, considering giving a direction under subsection (3) the Lord Advocate may appoint a person to represent the interests of any person who will be prevented from hearing or inspecting any evidence at a local inquiry if the direction is given. 
 (6) A person appointed under subsection (5) must be a person of a category mentioned in paragraph 1(a) or (b) of Schedule 4 to the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 (c.40). 
 (7) By rules— 
 (a) the Secretary of State may make provision as to the procedure to be followed by him before he gives a direction under subsection (3) in a case where a person has been appointed under subsection (5), 
 (b) the Scottish Ministers may make provision as to the procedure to be followed by them before they give such a direction in such a case, 
 and as to the functions of such a person. 
 (8) The power to make rules under— 
 (a) paragraph (a) of subsection (7) must be exercised by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament, 
 (b) paragraph (b) of that subsection must be exercised by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the Scottish Parliament.''. 
 (2) In Schedule 3 to the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 (determinination of certain appeals by person appointed by the Scottish Ministers), in paragraph 6, after subparagraph (6) there is inserted the following subparagraph— 
 ''(7) Subsections (2) to (8) of section 265A of the principal Act apply to an inquiry held under this paragraph as they apply to an inquiry held under section 265 of that Act.''. 
 (3) In the Schedule to the Planning (Hazardous Substances) (Scotland) Act 1997 (determination of certain appeals by person appointed by Scottish Ministers), in paragraph 6, after subparagraph (6) there is inserted the following subparagraph— 
 ''(7) Subsections (2) to (8) of section 265A of the principal Act apply to an inquiry held under this paragraph as they apply to an inquiry held under section 265 of that Act.''.'.—[Yvette Cooper.]
 Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

New clause 41 - Crown application of Scottish planning Acts

'(1) In Part 12 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, before section 242 (preliminary definitions for Part 12) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''241A Application to the Crown 
 (1) This Act binds the Crown. 
 (2) But subsection (1) is subject to express provision made by this Part.''. 
 (2) In the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997, after section 73 (application of Act to land and works of planning authorities) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''73A Application to the Crown 
 (1) This Act (except the provisions specified in subsection (2)) binds the Crown. 
 (2) These are the provisions— 
 (a) section 8, 
 (b) section 10(3), 
 (c) section 19(7), 
 (d) section 38(1) and (8), 
 (e) section 39, 
 (f) section 49, 
 (g) section 50, 
 (h) section 53, 
 (i) section 77. 
 (3) But subsection (2)(a) does not have effect to prohibit the doing of anything by or on behalf of the Crown which falls within the circumstances described in section 8(3)(a) to (d) and the doing of that thing does not contravene section 6.''. 
 (3) In the Planning (Hazardous Substances) (Scotland) Act 1997, after section 30 (application of Act to planning authorities) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''30A Application to the Crown 
 (1) This Act (except the provisions specified in subsection (2)) binds the Crown. 
 (2) The provisions are— 
 (a) section 6(3), 
 (b) section 21, 
 (c) section 25, 
 (d) section 34, 
 (e) section 35(2).''. 
 (4) Schedule (Crown application: Scotland) amends the Scottish planning Acts in relation to the application of those Acts to the Crown.'.—[Yvette Cooper.]
 Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

New clause 42 - Tree preservation orders affecting land where Forestry Commissioners interested: Scotland

'(1) In the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (c.8), section 162 (orders affecting land where Forestry Commissioners interested) is amended as follows. 
 (2) In subsection (2)— 
 (a) after paragraph (a) leave out ''or'', 
 (b) after paragraph (b), insert ''or— 
 (c) it has been placed at their disposal.''. 
 (3) In subsection (3), leave out from ''in accordance with'' to the end and insert— 
 ''(a) in accordance with a plan of operations or other working plan approved by the Forestry Commissioners, and for the time being in force, under a forestry dedication agreement or under the conditions of a grant or loan made under section 1 of the Forestry Act 1979; or 
 (b) by the Forestry Commissioners on land placed at their disposal.''. 
 (4) After subsection (4)(a)— 
 (a) leave out ''and'', 
 (b) insert the following paragraph— 
 ''(ab) land placed at the disposal of the Forestry Commissioners is land placed at their disposal under the Forestry Act 1967;''.'.—[Yvette Cooper.]
 Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

New clause 43 - Trees in conservation areas in Scotland:

'In the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (c.8), after section 172(4) (preservation of trees in conservation areas) there are inserted the following subsections— 
 ''(5) An emanation of the Crown must not, in relation to a tree to which this section applies, do an act mentioned in subsection (1) above unless— 
 (a) the first condition is satisfied, and 
 (b) either the second or third condition is satisfied. 
 (6) The first condition is that the emanation serves notice of an intention to do the act (with sufficient particulars to identify the tree) on the planning authority in whose area the tree is situated. 
 (7) The second condition is that the act is done with the consent of the authority. 
 (8) The third condition is that the act is done— 
 (a) after the end of the period of six weeks starting with the date of the notice, and 
 (b) before the end of the period of two years starting with that date.''.'.—[Yvette Cooper.]
 Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

New clause 44 - Old mining permissions: Scotland

No. NC44, to move the following Clause:— 
 '(1) Subsection (2) applies if— 
 (a) an old mining permission relates to land which is Crown land, and 
 (b) the permission has not been registered in pursuance of Part 2 of Schedule 8 to the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997. 
 (2) Paragraph 10 of that Schedule and that Part apply to the old mining permission subject to the following modifications— 
 (a) in subparagraph (3) of that paragraph, for ''16th May 1991'' there is substituted ''the date of commencement of section (Old mining permissions: Scotland)(2) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2003'', 
 (b) in paragraph 13(3) of that Part, for ''24 January 1992'' there is substituted ''the date of commencement of section (Old mining permissions: Scotland)(2) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2003''. 
 (3) ''Old mining permission'' must be construed in accordance with paragraph 10 and Part 2 of that Schedule. 
 (4) ''Crown land'' must be construed in accordance with Part 12 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.'.—[Yvette Cooper.]
 Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

New clause 45 - Subordinate legislation: Scotland

No. NC45, to move the following Clause:— 
 '(1) The Scottish Ministers may by order provide that relevant subordinate legislation applies to the Crown. 
 (2) The order may modify such subordinate legislation to the extent that the Scottish Ministers think appropriate for the purposes of its application to the Crown. 
 (3) Relevant subordinate legislation is an instrument which— 
 (a) is made under or (wholly or in part) for the purposes of any of the Scottish planning Acts, 
 (b) is made before the commencement of section (Crown application of Scottish planning Acts) of this Act, and 
 (c) is specified in the order.'.—[Yvette Cooper.]
 Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

New schedule 1 - Crown application

No. NS1, to move the following Schedule:— 
 Purchase notices 
 1 After section 137 of the principal Act (circumstances in which a purchase notice may be served) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''137A Purchase notices: Crown land 
 (1) A purchase notice may be served in respect of Crown land only as mentioned in this section. 
 (2) The owner of a private interest in Crown land must not serve a purchase notice unless— 
 (a) he first offers to dispose of his interest to the appropriate authority on equivalent terms, and 
 (b) the offer is refused by the appropriate authority. 
 (3) The appropriate authority may serve a purchase notice in relation to the following land— 
 (a) land belonging to Her Majesty in right of Her private estates; 
 (b) land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Duchy of Lancaster; 
 (c) land belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall; 
 (d) land which forms part of the Crown Estate. 
 (4) An offer is made on equivalent terms if the price payable for the interest is equal to (and, in default of agreement, determined in the same manner as) the compensation which would be payable in respect of it if it were acquired in pursuance of a purchase notice. 
 (5) Expressions used in this section and in Part 13 must be construed in accordance with that Part.'' 
 2 After section 32 of the listed buildings Act (circumstances in which a purchase notice may be served) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''32A Purchase notices: Crown land 
 (1) A listed building purchase notice may be served in respect of Crown land only as mentioned in this section. 
 (2) The owner of a private interest in Crown land must not serve a listed building purchase notice unless— 
 (a) he first offers to dispose of his interest to the appropriate authority on equivalent terms, and 
 (b) the offer is refused by the appropriate authority. 
 (3) The appropriate authority may serve a listed building purchase notice in relation to the following land— 
 (a) land belonging to Her Majesty in right of Her private estates; 
 (b) land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Duchy of Lancaster; 
 (c) land belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall; 
 (d) land which forms part of the Crown Estate. 
 (4) An offer is made on equivalent terms if the price payable for the interest is equal to (and, in default of agreement, determined in the same manner as) the compensation which would be payable in respect of it if it were acquired in pursuance of a listed building purchase notice.'' 
 Compulsory acquisition 
 3 (1) Section 226 of the principal Act (compulsory acquisition of land for development and other planning purposes) is amended as follows. 
 (2) After subsection (2) there is inserted the following subsection— 
 ''(2A) The Secretary of State must not authorise the acquisition of any interest in Crown land unless— 
 (a) it is an interest which is for the time being held otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown, and 
 (b) the appropriate authority consents to the acquisition.'' 
 (3) After subsection (8) there is inserted the following subsection— 
 ''(9) Crown land must be construed in accordance with Part 13.'' 
 4 (1) Section 228 of the principal Act (compulsory acquisition of land by the Secretary of State) is amended as follows. 
 (2) After subsection (1) there is inserted the following subsection— 
 ''(1A) But subsection (1) does not permit the acquisition of any interest in Crown land unless— 
 (a) it is an interest which is for the time being held otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown, and 
 (b) the appropriate authority consents to the acquisition.'' 
 (3) After subsection (7) there is inserted the following subsection— 
 ''(8) Crown land must be construed in accordance with Part 13.'' 
 5 (1) Section 47 of the listed buildings Act (compulsory acquisition of listed building in need of repair) is amended as follows. 
 (2) After subsection (6) there is inserted the following subsection— 
 ''(6A) This section does not permit the acquisition of any interest in Crown land unless— 
 (a) it is an interest which is for the time being held otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown, and 
 (b) the appropriate authority (within the meaning of section 82C) consents to the acquisition.'' 
 Definitions 
 6 (1) Section 293 of the principal Act (preliminary definitions) is amended as follows. 
 (2) In subsection (1) for the definition of ''Crown interest'' there is substituted the following definition— 
 '' ''Crown interest'' means any of the following— 
 (a) an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or in right of Her private estates; 
 (b) an interest belonging to a government department or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department; 
 (c) such other interest as the Secretary of State specifies by order;'' 
 (3) In subsection (2) after paragraph (b) there is inserted the following paragraph— 
 ''(ba) in relation to land belonging to Her Majesty in right of Her private estates means a person appointed by Her Majesty in writing under the Royal Sign Manual or, if no such appointment is made, the Secretary of State;'' 
 (4) In subsection (2) after paragraph (e) there are inserted the following paragraphs— 
 ''(f) in relation to Westminster Hall and the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, means the Lord Great Chamberlain and the Speakers of the House of Lords and the House of Commons acting jointly; 
 (g) in relation to Her Majesty's Robing Room in the Palace of Westminster, the adjoining staircase and anteroom and the Royal Gallery, means the Lord Great Chamberlain.'' 
 (5) After subsection (2) there is inserted the following subsection— 
 ''(2A) For the purposes of an application for planning permission made by or on behalf of the Crown in respect of land which does not belong to the Crown or in respect of which it has no interest a reference to the appropriate authority must be construed as a reference to the person who makes the application. 
 (6) After subsection (3) there are inserted the following subsections— 
 ''(3A) References to Her Majesty's private estates must be construed in accordance with section 1 of the Crown Private Estates Act 1862. 
 (3B) In subsection (2A) the Crown includes— 
 (a) the Duchy of Lancaster; 
 (b) the Duchy of Cornwall; 
 (c) a person who is an appropriate authority by virtue of subsection (2)(f) and (g).'' 
 (7) After subsection (4) there are inserted the following subsections— 
 ''(5) An order made for the purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition of Crown interest in subsection (1) must be made by statutory instrument. 
 (6) But no such order may be made unless a draft of it has been laid before and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.'' 
 7 In the listed buildings Act after section 82B (inserted by section (Urgent works relating to Crown land)(1) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''82C Expressions relating to the Crown 
 (1) In this Act, expressions relating to the Crown must be construed in accordance with this section. 
 (2) Crown land is land in which there a Crown interest or a Duchy interest. 
 (3) A Crown interest is any of the following— 
 (a) an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or in right of Her private estates; 
 (b) an interest belonging to a government department or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department; 
 (c) such other interest as the Secretary of State specifies by order. 
 (4) A Duchy interest is— 
 (a) an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Duchy of Lancaster, or 
 (b) an interest belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall. 
 (5) A private interest is an interest which is neither a Crown interest nor a Duchy interest. 
 (6) The appropriate authority in relation to any land is— 
 (a) in the case of land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown and forming part of the Crown Estate, the Crown Estate Commissioners; 
 (b) in relation to any other land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown, the government department having the management of the land; 
 (c) in relation to land belonging to Her Majesty in right of Her private estates, a person appointed by Her Majesty in writing under the Royal Sign Manual or, if no such appointment is made, the Secretary of State; 
 (d) in relation to land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Chancellor of the Duchy; 
 (e) in relation to land belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall, such person as the Duke of Cornwall, or the possessor for the time being of the Duchy, appoints; 
 (f) in the case of land belonging to a government department or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, the department; 
 (g) in relation to Westminster Hall and the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, means the Lord Great Chamberlain and the Speakers of the House of Lords and the House of Commons acting jointly; 
 (h) in relation to Her Majesty's Robing Room in the Palace of Westminster, the adjoining staircase and anteroom and the Royal Gallery, means the Lord Great Chamberlain. 
 (7) If any question arises as to what authority is the appropriate authority in relation to any land it must be referred to the Treasury, whose decision is final. 
 (8) For the purposes of an application for listed building consent made by or on behalf of the Crown in respect of land which does not belong to the Crown or in respect of which it has no interest a reference to the appropriate authority must be construed as a reference to the person who makes the application. 
 (9) For the purposes of subsection (8) the Crown includes— 
 (a) the Duchy of Lancaster; 
 (b) the Duchy of Cornwall; 
 (c) a person who is an appropriate authority by virtue of subsection (6)(g) and (h).'' 
 (10) The reference to Her Majesty's private estates must be construed in accordance with section 1 of the Crown Private Estates Act 1862. 
 (11) An order made for the purposes of paragraph (c) of subsection (3) must be made by statutory instrument. 
 (12) But no such order may be made unless a draft of it has been laid before and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.'' 
 8 (1) Section 31 of the hazardous substances Act (exercise of powers in relation to Crown land) is amended as follows. 
 (2) Subsections (1) and (2) are omitted. 
 (3) In subsection (3) for the definition of ''Crown interest'' there is substituted the following definition— 
 '' ''Crown interest'' means any of the following— 
 (a) an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or in right of Her private estates; 
 (b) an interest belonging to a government department or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department; 
 (c) such other interest as the Secretary of State specifies by order;'' 
 (4) In subsection (5) after paragraph (a) there is inserted the following paragraph— 
 ''(aa) in relation to land belonging to Her Majesty in right of Her private estates means a person appointed by Her Majesty in writing under the Royal Sign Manual or, if no such appointment is made, the Secretary of State;'' 
 (5) In subsection (5) after paragraph (d) there are inserted the following paragraphs— 
 ''(e) in relation to Westminster Hall and the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, means the Lord Great Chamberlain and the Speakers of the House of Lords and the House of Commons acting jointly; 
 (f) in relation to Her Majesty's Robing Room in the Palace of Westminster, the adjoining staircase and anteroom and the Royal Gallery, means the Lord Great Chamberlain. 
 (6) After subsection (6) there are inserted the following subsections— 
 ''(7) References to Her Majesty's private estates must be construed in accordance with section 1 of the Crown Private Estates Act 1862. 
 (8) An order made for the purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition of Crown interest in subsection (3) must be made by statutory instrument. 
 (9) But no such order may be made unless a draft of it has been laid before and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.'' 
 Special enforcement notices 
 9 (1) Sections 294 and 295 of the principal Act (control of development on Crown land: special enforcement notices) are omitted. 
 (2) But the repeal of sections 294 and 295 does not affect their operation in relation to development carried out before the commencement of this paragraph. 
 Applications for planning permission, etc. 
 10 (1) After section 298 of the principal Act (supplementary provision as to Crown and Duchy interests) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''298A Applications for planning permission by Crown 
 (1) This section applies to an application for planning permission or for a certificate under section 192 made by or on behalf of the Crown. 
 (2) The Secretary of State may by regulations modify or exclude any statutory provision relating to the making and determination of such applications. 
 (3) A statutory provision is a provision contained in or having effect under any enactment.'' 
 (2) Section 299 of the principal Act is omitted. 
 (3) The repeal of section 299 of the principal Act does not does not affect any requirement made in pursuance of regulations made under subsection (5)(b) of that section. 
 11 After section 82E of the listed buildings Act (inserted by section (Enforcement in relation to Crown land)) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''82F Applications for listed building or conservation area consent by Crown 
 (1) This section applies to an application for listed building consent or conservation area consent made by or on behalf of the Crown. 
 (2) The Secretary of State may by regulations modify or exclude any statutory provision relating to the making and determination of such applications. 
 (3) A statutory provision is a provision contained in or having effect under any enactment.'' 
 12 (1) After section 32A of the hazardous substances Act (inserted by paragraph 2 of Schedule (Crown application)) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''32B Applications for hazardous substances consent by Crown 
 (1) This section applies to an application for hazardous substances consent made by or on behalf of the Crown. 
 (2) The Secretary of State may by regulations modify or exclude any statutory provision relating to the making and determination of such applications. 
 (3) A statutory provision is a provision contained in or having effect under any enactment.'' 
 (2) Section 32 of the hazardous substances Act is omitted. 
 Rights of entry 
 13 After section 325 of the principal Act (supplementary provisions as to rights of entry) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''325A Rights of entry: Crown land 
 (1) Section 324 applies to Crown land subject to the following modifications. 
 (2) A person must not enter Crown land unless he has the relevant permission. 
 (3) Relevant permission is the permission of— 
 (a) a person appearing to the person seeking entry to the land to be entitled to give it, or 
 (b) the appropriate authority. 
 (4) In subsection (8) the words ''Subject to section 325'' must be ignored. 
 (5) Section 325 does not apply to anything done by virtue of this section. 
 (6) ''Appropriate authority'' must be construed in accordance with section 293(2).'' 
 14 After section 88B of the listed buildings Act (rights of entry: supplementary provisions) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''88C Rights of entry: Crown land 
 (1) Section 88 applies to Crown land subject to the following modifications. 
 (2) A person must not enter Crown land unless he has the relevant permission. 
 (3) Relevant permission is the permission of— 
 (a) a person appearing to the person seeking entry to the land to be entitled to give it, or 
 (b) the appropriate authority. 
 (4) In subsection (6) the words ''Subject to section 88B(8)'' must be ignored. 
 (5) Section 88B does not apply to anything done by virtue of this section. 
 (6) ''Appropriate authority'' must be construed in accordance with section 82C(6).'' 
 15 After section 36B of the hazardous substances Act (rights of entry: supplementary provisions) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''36C Rights of entry: Crown land 
 (1) Section 36 applies to Crown land subject to the following modifications. 
 (2) A person must not enter Crown land unless he has the relevant permission. 
 (3) Relevant permission is the permission of— 
 (a) a person appearing to the person seeking entry to the land to be entitled to give it, or 
 (b) the appropriate authority. 
 (4) Section 36B does not apply to anything done by virtue of this section. 
 (5) ''Appropriate authority'' must be construed in accordance with section 31(5).'' 
 Service of notices 
 16 After section 329 of the principal Act (service of notices) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''329A Service of notices on the Crown 
 (1) Any notice or other document required under this Act to be served on the Crown must be served on the appropriate authority. 
 (2) Section 329 does not apply for the purposes of the service of such a notice or document. 
 (3) ''Appropriate authority'' must be construed in accordance with section 293(2).'' 
 Information as to interests in land 
 17 After section 330 of the principal Act (power to require information as to interests in land) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''330A Information as to interests in Crown land 
 (1) This section applies to an interest in Crown land which is not a private interest. 
 (2) Section 330 does not apply to an interest to which this section applies. 
 (3) For a purpose mentioned in section 330(1) the Secretary of State may request the appropriate authority to give him such information as to the matters mentioned in section 330(2) as he specifies in the request. 
 (4) The appropriate authority must comply with a request under subsection (3) except to the extent— 
 (a) that the matter is not within the knowledge of the authority, or 
 (b) that to do so will disclose information as to any of the matters mentioned in section 321(4). 
 (5) Expressions used in this section and in Part 13 must be construed in accordance with that Part.'' 
 Listed buildings and conservation areas 
 18 (1) Sections 83 and 84 of the listed buildings Act (provisions relating to Crown land) are omitted. 
 (2) The repeal of section 84 of the listed buildings Act does not does not affect any requirement made in pursuance of regulations made under subsection (4)(b) of that section. 
 19 (1) Section 89(1) of the listed buildings Act (application of certain general provisions of principal Act) is amended as follows. 
 (2) After the entry relating to section 329 there is inserted— 
 ''section 329A(1) and (2) (service of notices on the Crown)''. 
 (3) After the entry relating to section 330 there is inserted— 
 ''section 330A(1) to (4) (information as to interests in Crown land)''. 
 Hazardous substances 
 20 In section 17 of the hazardous substances Act (revocation of consent on change of control of land) after subsection (2) there is inserted the following subsection— 
 ''(3) This section does not apply if the control of land changes from one emanation of the Crown to another.'' 
 21 (1) Section 37(2) of the hazardous substances Act (application of certain general provisions of the principal Act) is amended as follows. 
 (2) After the entry relating to section 329 there is inserted— 
 ''section 329A(1) and (2) (service of notices on the Crown)''. 
 (3) After the entry relating to section 330 there is inserted— 
 ''section 330A(1) to (4) (information as to interests in Crown land)''. 
 Miscellaneous 
 22 Section 293(4) of the principal Act (certain persons treated as having an interest in Crown land) is omitted. 
 23 Section 297 of the principal Act (agreements relating to Crown land) is omitted. 
 24 (1) Section 298 of the principal Act (supplementary provisions as to Crown and Duchy interests) is amended as follows. 
 (2) Subsections (1) and (2) are omitted. 
 (3) In subsection (3) after ''in which there is'' there is inserted ''a Crown interest or''. 
 25 Section 299A of the principal Act (Crown planning obligations) is omitted. 
 26 (1) Section 300 of the principal Act (tree preservation orders in anticipation of disposal of Crown land) is omitted. 
 (2) But the repeal of section 300 does not affect its operation in relation to a tree preservation order made by virtue of that section before the commencement of this paragraph. 
 27 (1) Section 301 of the principal Act (requirement of planning permission for continuance of use instituted by the Crown) is omitted. 
 (2) But the repeal of section 301 does not affect its operation in relation to an agreement made as mentioned in subsection (1) of that section before the commencement of this paragraph.'.—[Yvette Cooper.]
 Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

New Schedule 2 - Transitional provisions: Crown applications

No. NS2, to move the following Schedule:— 
 The principal Act 
 Introduction 
 1 This Part applies to a development if— 
 (a) it is a development for which before the relevant date no planning permission is required, 
 (b) it is not a development or of a description of development for which planning permission is granted by virtue of a development order, and 
 (c) before the relevant date proposed development notice been given to the local planning authority. 
 2 In this Part— 
 (a) the relevant date is the date of commencement of section (Crown application of planning Acts)(1); 
 (b) proposed development notice is notice of a proposal for development given by the developer in pursuance of arrangements made by the Secretary of State in relation to development by or on behalf of the Crown; 
 (c) the developer is the Crown or a person acting on behalf of the Crown. 
 Acceptable development 
 3 (1) This paragraph applies if before the relevant date in pursuance of the arrangements either the local planning authority have or the Secretary of State has given notice to the developer that they or he (as the case may be) find the proposed development acceptable. 
 (2) The notice must be treated as if it is planning permission granted under Part 3 of the principal Act. 
 (3) If the notice is subject to conditions the conditions have effect as if they are conditions attached to the planning permission. 
 4 (1) This paragraph applies if before the relevant date the local planning authority have in pursuance of the arrangements kept a register of proposed development notices. 
 (2) The register must be treated as if it is part of the register kept by them in pursuance of section 69 of the principal Act. 
 Referred proposals 
 5 (1) This paragraph applies if— 
 (a) before the relevant date the local planning authority have notified the developer in pursuance of the arrangements that they do not find the development acceptable, and 
 (b) the matter has been referred to but not decided by the Secretary of State. 
 (2) This paragraph also applies if— 
 (a) before the relevant date the local planning authority have notified the developer in pursuance of the arrangements that they find the development acceptable subject to conditions, and 
 (b) the matter has been referred to but not decided by the Secretary of State. 
 (3) The Secretary of State must deal with the proposal as if it is an appeal by an applicant for planning permission under section 78 of the principal Act. 
 Pending proposals 
 6 (1) This paragraph applies if before the relevant date— 
 (a) proposed development notice has been given, but 
 (b) the local planning authority have not given notice to the developer as mentioned in paragraph 3 or 5. 
 (2) The principal Act applies as if the proposal is an application for planning permission duly made under Part 3 of that Act. 
 The listed buildings Act 
 Introduction 
 7 This Part applies to works if— 
 (a) they are works for which before the relevant date no listed building consent is required, and 
 (b) before the relevant date proposed works notice been given to the local planning authority. 
 8 In this Part— 
 (a) the relevant date is the date of commencement of section (Crown application of planning Acts)(1); 
 (b) proposed works notice is notice of a proposal for works given by the person proposing to carry out the works (the developer) in pursuance of arrangements made by the Secretary of State in relation to development by or on behalf of the Crown; 
 (c) the developer is the Crown or a person acting on behalf of the Crown. 
 Acceptable works 
 9 (1) This paragraph applies if before the relevant date in pursuance of the arrangements either the local planning authority have or the Secretary of State has given notice to the developer that they or he (as the case may be) find the proposed works acceptable. 
 (2) The notice must be treated as if it is listed building consent granted under the listed buildings Act. 
 (3) If the notice is subject to conditions the conditions have effect as if they are conditions attached to the consent. 
 10 (1) This paragraph applies if before the relevant date the local planning authority have in pursuance of the arrangements kept a register of proposed works notices. 
 (2) The register must be treated as if it is part of the register kept by them in pursuance of the listed buildings Act. 
 Referred proposals 
 11 (1) This paragraph applies if— 
 (a) before the relevant date the local planning authority have notified the developer in pursuance of the arrangements that they do not find the works acceptable, and 
 (b) the matter has been referred to but not decided by the Secretary of State. 
 (2) This paragraph also applies if— 
 (a) before the relevant date the local planning authority have notified the developer in pursuance of the arrangements that they find the works acceptable subject to conditions, and 
 (b) the matter has been referred to but not decided by the Secretary of State. 
 (3) The Secretary of State must deal with the proposal as if it is an appeal by an applicant for listed building consent under section 20 of the listed buildings Act. 
 Pending proposals 
 12 (1) This paragraph applies if before the relevant date— 
 (c) proposed works notice has been given, but 
 (d) the local planning authority have not given notice to the developer as mentioned in paragraph 9 or 11. 
 (2) The listed buildings Act applies as if the proposal is an application for listed building consent duly made under that Act.'.—[Yvette Cooper.]
 Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

New Schedule 3 - Crown application: Scotland

No. NS3, to move the following Schedule:— 
 Purchase notices 
 1 In the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (c.8) (referred to in this Schedule as the ''principal Scottish Act''), there is inserted after section 88 (circumstances in which purchase notices may be served) the following section— 
 ''88A Purchase notices: Crown land 
 (1) A purchase notice may be served in respect of Crown land only as mentioned in this section. 
 (2) The owner of a private interest in Crown land must not serve a purchase notice unless— 
 (a) he first offers to dispose of his interest to the appropriate authority on equivalent terms, and 
 (b) the offer is refused by the appropriate authority. 
 (3) The appropriate authority may serve a purchase notice in relation to the following land—— 
 (a) land belonging to Her Majesty in right of her private estates, 
 (b) land which forms part of the Crown Estate. 
 (4) An offer is made on equivalent terms if the price payable for the interest is equal to (and, in default of agreement, determined in the same manner as) the compensation which would be payable in respect of it if it were acquired in pursuance of a purchase notice. 
 (5) Expressions used in this section and in Part 12 (Crown Land) must be construed in accordance with that Part.''. 
 2 In the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 (c.9) (referred to in this Schedule as the ''Scottish listed buildings Act''), after section 28 (circumstances in which purchase notices may be served) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''28A Purchase notices: Crown land 
 (1) A listed building purchase notice may be served in respect of Crown land only as mentioned in this section. 
 (2) The owner of a private interest in Crown land must not serve a listed building purchase notice unless— 
 (a) he first offers to dispose of his interest to the appropriate authority on equivalent terms, and 
 (b) the offer is refused by the appropriate authority. 
 (3) The appropriate authority may serve a listed building purchase notice in relation to the following land— 
 (a) land belonging to Her Majesty in right of her private estates, 
 (b) land which forms part of the Crown Estate. 
 (4) An offer is made on equivalent terms if the price payable for the interest is equal to (and, in default of agreement, determined in the same manner as) the compensation which would be payable in respect of it if it were acquired in pursuance of a listed building puchase notice.''. 
 Compulsory acquisition 
 3 (1) In the principal Scottish Act, section 189 (compulsory acquisition of land for development and other planning purposes) is amended as follows. 
 (2) After subsection (2) there is inserted the following subsection— 
 ''(2A) The Scottish Ministers must not authorise the acquisition of any interest in Crown land unless— 
 (a) it is an interest which is for the time being held otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown, and 
 (b) the appropriate authority consents to the acquisition.''. 
 (3) After subsection (8) there is inserted the following subsection— 
 ''(9) Crown land must be construed in accordance with Part 12.''. 
 4 (1) Section 190 of that Act (compulsory acquisition of land by Secretary of State for the Environment) is amended as follows. 
 (2) After subsection (1) there is inserted the following subsection— 
 ''(1A) But subsection (1) does not permit the acquisition of any interest in Crown land unless— 
 (a) it is an interest which is for the time being held otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown, and 
 (b) the appropriate authority consents to the acquisition.''. 
 (3) After subsection (7) there is added the following subsection— 
 ''(8) Crown land must be construed in accordance with Part 12.''. 
 5 (1) In the Scottish listed buildings Act, section 42 (compulsory acquisition of listed building in need of repair) is amended as follows. 
 (2) After subsection (6) there is inserted the following subsection— 
 ''(6A) This section does not permit the acquisition of any interest in Crown land unless— 
 (a) it is an interest which is for the time being held otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown, and 
 (b) the appropriate authority consents to the acquisition.''. 
 Definitions 
 6 (1) In the principal Scottish Act, section 242 (preliminary definitions) is amended as follows. 
 (2) In subsection (1) for the definition of ''Crown interest'' there is substituted the following definition— 
 '' ''Crown interest'' means any of the following— 
 (a) an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or in right of Her private estates, 
 (b) an interest belonging to a government department or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, 
 (c) such other interest as the Scottish Ministers specify by order;''. 
 (3) In subsection (2) after paragraph (b) there is inserted the following paragraph— 
 ''(ba) in relation to land belonging to Her Majesty in right of Her private estates means a person appointed by Her Majesty in writing under the Royal Sign Manual or, if no such appointment is made, the Scottish Ministers;''. 
 (4) After subsection (2) there is inserted the following subsection— 
 ''(2A) For the purposes of an application for planning permission made by or on behalf of the Crown in respect of land which does not belong to the Crown or in respect of which the Crown has no interest, a reference to the appropriate authority must be construed as a reference to the person who makes the application.''. 
 (5) After subsection (3) there is inserted the following subsection— 
 ''(3A) References to Her Majesty's private estates must be construed in accordance with section 1 of the Crown Private Estates Act 1862 (c.37).''. 
 (6) After subsection (4) there are inserted the following subsections— 
 ''(5) An order made for the purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition of Crown interest in subsection (1) must be made by statutory instrument. 
 (6) But no such order may be made unless a draft of it has been laid before and approved by resolution of the Scottish Parliament.''. 
 7 In the Scottish listed buildings Act, after section 73C (inserted by section (urgent works relating to Crown land: Scotland)(1)), there is inserted the following section— 
 ''73D Expressions relating to the Crown 
 (1) Expressions relating to the Crown must be construed in accordance with this section. 
 (2) Crown land is land in which there is a Crown interest. 
 (3) A Crown interest is any of the following— 
 (a) an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or in right of Her private estates, 
 (b) an interest belonging to a government department or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, 
 (c) such other interest as the Scottish Ministers specify by order. 
 (4) A private interest is an interest which is not a Crown interest. 
 (5) The appropriate authority in relation to any land is— 
 (a) in the case of land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown and forming part of the Crown Estate, the Crown Estate Commissioners, 
 (b) in relation to any other land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown, the government department having the management of the land, 
 (c) in relation to land belonging to Her Majesty in right of Her private estates, a person appointed by Her Majesty in writing under the Royal Sign Manual or, if no such appointment is made, the Scottish Ministers, 
 (d) in the case of land belonging to a government department or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, the department. 
 (6) If any question arises as to what authority is the appropriate authority in relation to any land it must be referred to the Scottish Ministers, whose decision is final. 
 (7) For the purpose of an application for listed building consent made by or on behalf of the Crown in respect of land which does not belong to the Crown or in respect of which the Crown has no interest, a reference to the appropriate authority must be construed as a reference to the person who makes the application. 
 (8) The reference to Her Majesty's private estates must be construed in accordance with section 1 of the Crown Private Estates Act 1862 (c.37). 
 (9) An order made for the purposes of paragraph (c) of subsection (3) must be made by statutory instrument. 
 (10) But no such order may be made unless a draft of it has been laid before and approved by resolution of the Scottish Parliament. 
 (11) This section applies for the purposes of this Act.''. 
 8 (1) In the Planning (Hazardous Substances) (Scotland) Act 1997 (c.10) (referred to in this Schedule as the ''Scottish hazardous substances Act'', section 31 (exercise of powers in relation to Crown land) is amended as follows. 
 (2) Subsections (1) and (2) are omitted. 
 (3) In subsection (3) for the definition of ''Crown interest'' there is substituted the following definition— 
 '' ''Crown interest'' means any of the following— 
 (a) an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or in right of Her private estates, 
 (b) an interest belonging to a government department or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, 
 (c) such other interest as the Scottish Ministers specify by order. 
 (4) In subsection (5) after paragraph (b) there is inserted the following paragraph— 
 ''(ba) in relation to land belonging to Her Majesty in right of Her private estates means a person appointed by Her Majesty in writing under the Royal Sign Manual or, if no such appointment is made, the Scottish Ministers,''. 
 (5) After subsection (6) there are inserted the following subsections— 
 ''(7) References to Her Majesty's private estates must be construed in accordance with section 1 of the Crown Private Estates Act 1862 (c.37). 
 (8) An order made for the purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition of Crown interest in subsection (3) must be made by statutory instrument. 
 (9) But no such order may be made unless a draft of it has been laid before and approved by resolution of the Scottish Parliament.''. 
 Special enforcement notices 
 9 (1) Sections 243 and 244 of the principal Scottish Act (control of development on Crown land: special enforcement notices) are omitted. 
 (2) But the repeal of sections 243 and 244 does not affect their operation in relation to development carried out before the commencement of this paragraph. 
 Applications for planning permission, etc. 
 10 (1) In the principal Scottish Act, after section 247 (supplementary provision as to Crown interest) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''247A Applications for planning permission by Crown 
 (1) This section applies to an application for planning permission or for a certificate under section 151 made by or on behalf of the Crown. 
 (2) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations modify or exclude any statutory provision relating to the making and determination of such applications. 
 (3) A statutory provision is a provision contained in or having effect under any enactment.''. 
 (2) Section 248 (application for planning permission etc.in anticipation of disposal of Crown land) is omitted. 
 (3) The repeal of that section does not affect any requirement made in pursuance of regulations made under subsection (5)(b) of that section. 
 11 After section 73F of the Scottish listed buildings Act (inserted by section (Enforcement in relation to the Crown: Scotland) (4)) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''73G Applications for listed building or conservation area consent by Crown 
 (1) This section applies to an application for— 
 (a) listed building consent, or 
 (b) conservation area consent, 
 made by or on behalf of the Crown. 
 (2) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations modify or exclude any statutory provision relating to the making and determination of such applications. 
 (3) A statutory provision is a provision contained in or having effect under any enactment.''. 
 12 In the Scottish hazardous substances Act, section 32 (application for hazardous substances consent in anticipation of disposal of Crown land) is omitted. 
 13 Before section 33 of that Act there is inserted— 
 ''32A Applications for hazardous substances consent by Crown 
 (1) This section applies to an application for hazardous substances consent made by or on behalf of the Crown. 
 (2) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations modify or exclude any statutory provision relating to the making and determination of such applications. 
 (3) A statutory provision is a provision contained in or having effect under any enactment.''. 
 Rights of entry 
 14 After section 270 of the principal Scottish Act (supplementary provisions as to rights of entry) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''270A Rights of entry: Crown land 
 (1) Section 269 applies to Crown land subject to the following modifications. 
 (2) A person must not enter Crown land unless he has the relevant permission. 
 (3) Relevant permission is the permission of— 
 (a) a person appearing to the person seeking entry to the land to be entitled to give it, or 
 (b) the appropriate authority. 
 (4) In subsection (6) the words ''Subject to section 270'' must be ignored. 
 (5) Section 270 does not apply to anything done by virtue of this section. 
 (6) ''Appropriate authority'' must be construed in accordance with section 242.''. 
 15 After section 78 of the Scottish listed buildings Act (rights of entry: supplementary provisions) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''78A Rights of entry: Crown land 
 (1) Section 76 applies to Crown land subject to the following modifications. 
 (2) A person must not enter Crown land unless he has the relevant permission. 
 (3) Relevant permission is the permission of— 
 (a) a person appearing to the person seeking entry to the land to be entitled to give it, or 
 (b) the appropriate authority. 
 (4) In subsection (6) the words ''and 78'' must be ignored. 
 (5) Section 78 does not apply to anything done by virtue of this section. 
 (6) ''Appropriate authority'' must be construed in accordance with section 73D.''. 
 16 After section 35 of the Scottish hazardous substances Act (rights of entry: supplementary provisions) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''35A Rights of entry: Crown land 
 (1) Section 33 applies to Crown land subject to the following modifications. 
 (2) A person must not enter Crown land unless he has the relevant permission. 
 (3) Relevant permission is the permission of— 
 (a) a person appearing to the person seeking entry to the land to be entitled to give it, or 
 (b) the appropriate authority. 
 (4) In subsection (5), the words ''and 35'' must be ignored. 
 (5) Section 35 does not apply to anything done by virtue of this section. 
 (6) ''Appropriate authority'' must be construed in accordance with section 31(5).''. 
 Service of notices 
 17 After section 271 of the principal Scottish Act (service of notices) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''271A Service of notices on the Crown 
 (1) Any notice or other document required under this Act to be served on the Crown must be served on the appropriate authority. 
 (2) Section 271 does not apply for the purposes of the service of such a notice or document. 
 (3) ''Appropriate authority'' must be construed in accordance with section 242.''. 
 Information as to interests in land 
 18 In the principal Scottish Act, after section 272 (power to require information as to interests in land) there is inserted the following section— 
 ''272A Information as to interests in Crown land 
 (1) This section applies to an interest in Crown land which is not a private interest. 
 (2) Section 272 does not apply to an interest to which this section applies. 
 (3) For a purpose mentioned in section 272(1) the Scottish Ministers may request the appropriate authority to give them such information as to the matters mentioned in section 272(2) as they specify in the request. 
 (4) The appropriate authority must comply with a request under subsection (3) except to the extent— 
 (a) that the matter is not within the knowledge of the authority, or 
 (b) that to do so will disclose information as to any of the matters mentioned in section 265A(4). 
 (5) Expressions used in this section and in Part 12 (Crown Land) must be construed in accordance with that Part.''. 
 Listed buildings and conservation areas 
 19 (1) In the Scottish listed buildings Act, sections 74 and 75 (provisions relating to Crown land) are omitted. 
 (2) The repeal of section 75 does not affect any requirement made in pursuance of regulations made under subsection (4)(b) of that section. 
 20 (1) In the Scottish listed buildings Act, section 79 (application of certain general provisions of the principal Scottish Act) is amended as follows. 
 (2) In subsection (1)— 
 (a) after the entry relating to section 265 there is inserted— 
 ''section 265A (planning inquiries to be held in public subject to certain exceptions),'', 
 (b) after the entry relating to section 271 there is inserted— 
 ''section 271A(1) and (2) (service of notices on the Crown),'', and 
 (c) after the entry relating to section 272 there is inserted— 
 ''section 272A(1) to (4) (information as to interests in Crown land),''. 
 (3) After subsection (2) there is inserted the following subsection— 
 ''(3) In the application of section 265A of the principal Act for the purposes of this Act, the provisions mentioned in subsection (1) of the section shall be construed as including any inquiry held by virtue of this section.''. 
 Hazardous substances 
 21 In the Scottish hazardous substances Act, in section 15 (revocation of consent on change of control of land) after subsection (2) there is inserted the following subsection— 
 ''(3) This section does not apply if the control of the land changes from one emanation of the Crown to another.''. 
 22 (1) In the Scottish hazardous substances Act, section 36 (application of certain general provisions of the principal Scottish Act) is amended as follows— 
 (a) after the entry relating to section 265 there is inserted— 
 ''section 265A (planning inquiries to be held in public subject to certain exceptions),'', 
 (b) after the entry relating to section 271 there is inserted— 
 ''section 271A(1) to (2) (service of notices on the Crown),'', and 
 (c) after the entry relating to section 272 there is inserted— 
 ''section 272A(1) to (4) (information as to interests in Crown land),''. 
 (2) The existing provision as so amended becomes subsection (1), and after that subsection there is added— 
 ''(2) In the application of section 265A of the principal Act for the purposes of this Act, the provisions mentioned in subsection (1) of the section shall be construed as including any inquiry held by virtue of this section.''. 
 Miscellaneous 
 23 Section 242(4) of the principal Scottish Act (certain persons treated as having an interest in Crown land) is omitted. 
 24 In the principal Scottish Act, for section 247 (supplementary provisions as to Crown interest) there is substituted the following section— 
 ''247 Supplementary provisions as to Crown interest 
 Where, in accordance with an agreement under section 246, the approval of a planning authority is required in respect of any development of land in which there is a Crown interest, sections 78 to 82 have effect in relation to the withholding of that approval, or the giving of it subject to conditions, as if it were a refusal of planning permission, or, as the case may be, a grant of planning permission subject to conditions.''. 
 25 (1) In the principal Scottish Act, section 249 (tree preservation orders in anticipation of disposal of Crown land) is omitted. 
 (2) But the repeal of section 249 does not affect its operation in relation to a tree preservation order made by virtue of that section before the commencement of this paragraph. 
 26 (1) In the principal Scottish Act, section 250 (requirement of planning permission for continuance of use instituted by the Crown) is omitted. 
 (2) But the repeal of section 250 does not affect its operation in relation to an agreement made as mentioned in subsection (1) of that section before the commencement of this paragraph.'.—[Yvette Cooper.]
 Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

New clause 1 - Planning permission for high hedges

No. NC1, to move the following Clause:— 
 'After section 57 (Planning permission required for development) of the principal Act there is inserted the following section— 
 ''57A Planning permission for high hedges. 
 (1) Planning permission is required for high hedges. 
 (2) In this section 'high hedge' means so much of a barrier to light for, or access to, residential property as— 
 (a) is formed wholly or predominately by a line of two or more evergreens. 
 (b) rises to a height of more than two metres above ground level. 
 (3) In this section 'evergreen' means an evergreen tree or shrub or a semievergreen tree or shrub. 
 (4) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any high hedge existing on the date on which it comes into force.''.'.—[Mr. Andrew Turner.] 
Brought up, and read the First time.

Andrew Turner: I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
 It is a matter of great regret that the title that I have come up with for this new clause does not share the resonance of some of the titles that the Government have given to their new clauses. Some of those titles—such as ''Old mining permissions: Scotland''—remind me almost of a barrel of real ale from the Ventnor brewery. 
 My new clause is an attempt to deal with a serious issue of which many of us are aware. It adopts two principles. The first, which has been enunciated by the Minister, is that the whole is the enemy of the parts. The second principle is one of conscientious plagiarism taken from Bills introduced by noble Friend Baroness Gardner of Parkes in another place and by the hon. Member for Ealing, North (Mr. Pound) in this place.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: I hesitate to intervene on my hon. Friend, but I would like to put on the record that the noble Baroness Gardner of Parkes's Bill was almost identical in every respect to the Bill of my hon. Friend the Member for Solihull (Mr. Taylor). I would not like his contribution not to be recognised.

Andrew Turner: My hon. Friend is kind to remind me about that. Looking further down in my notes, I see that my hon. Friend the Member for Solihull did introduce such a Bill, which nearly got through the whole parliamentary process.
 The Government carried out a detailed consultation in 1999 on the impact of high hedges. More than 3,000 people and organisations responded, which for a Government consultation must be approaching a record—it is certainly more than responded to some consultations on regional referendums. The result showed that 94 per cent. of respondents believed that new laws were needed to control high hedges. Some 70 per cent. of local authorities that responded supported that belief. The proposal was made that local authorities should be able to determine complaints. I have not gone along that road because it has failed twice at least, for various reasons. Therefore, I have adopted a slightly different route. 
 Unfortunately, the Bill of my hon. Friend the Member for Solihull fell in April 2001 because of an imminent general election, although the then Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Environment and the Regions reminded us that it is 
''the Government's commitment to introduce new laws to solve hedge problems in England and Wales.''
 He added that 
''we could not find room for such a Bill in this Session''—
 that is, the Session that ended in 2001. He also said: 
''We are therefore pleased that the hon. Member for Solihull is pursuing the matter and that the Bill would apply to England and Wales.''—[Official Report, 9 March 2001; Vol. 364, c. 575.]
 The 2001 Queen's Speech also failed to mention a high hedges Bill. Government officials said that they were committed to bringing forward legislation when parliamentary time became available and the then Secretary of State told Hedgeline in a letter on 26 July 2001 that the Government remained committed to introducing new laws as soon as there was space in the parliamentary timetable. I will not go through the frequently reiterated Government commitments on the matter, but this is the opportunity for the Minister to give us half a loaf, if not a whole loaf, and to respond to that need. 
 Two Bills were introduced in the current Session—one in the Lords and one by the hon. Member for Ealing, North. When the Commons Bill failed, the hon. Member for Ealing, North asked the Prime Minister, no less, on 17 September 2003, what he was going to do about it. The Prime Minister repeated that 
''the Government have had a long-standing commitment since August 2000 to bring forward new laws to give local authorities in England and Wales powers to determine complaints about high garden hedges and will make every effort to get them on to the statute book at the earliest opportunity. I cannot say better than that.''—[Official Report, 17 September 2003; Vol. 410, c. 859–60.]
 Now is the opportunity for the Minister to score lots of brownie points, but she is not the only one who is trying to do so. My noble Friend continues to persist, and tabled amendment No. 194 to the Anti-social Behaviour Bill as recently as 7 October. The Front-Bench spokesman, Lord Bassam, expressed great sympathy for her case: 
''I understand why inserting suitable provisions in the Anti-social Behaviour Bill is on the face of it a very attractive proposition. This is a thoroughly anti-social problem. I believe that the noble Baroness described people who are victims of it as hedge victims. She is absolutely right about that. We recognise that some people are victims of such anti-social behaviour on the part of their neighbours. I certainly admire the vigour with which she has attempted to argue the new clause into the scope of the Bill.''
 He went on to say that he was not prepared to accept the amendment, adding: 
''As Members of the Committee have said, we do not get too many legislative opportunities, and I could not give a commitment as to when the Government could find a legislative slot in the future.
We as a government want to see such legislation ultimately on the statute book. We recognise the matter for the problem that it is.''—[Official Report, House of Lords, 7 October 2003; Vol. 653, c. 251–52.]
 To be fair, he did say that he would look at it again, but ''ultimately'' is a long way away. 
 The new clause will deliver only half of what people want—it will prevent such problems from arising in future—but it does not pretend to deal with the difficult question of what happens to those who already suffer from such problems. I have had many letters, as I am sure other Members have, asking me to support various legislation, but I have also had letters asking me not to support the proposal in the Bill because of its retrospective nature. It allows people to ask those who believe that they have grown nice tall hedges for good reasons to have them cut down. My proposal would not do that. Let me give an example from Bembridge in my constituency that shows why it is appropriate. 
 Somebody sold a plot of land adjacent to his home for housing purposes and planted a hedge that was designed to rise to about 6 ft, or 2 m. That was many years ago and the hedge has now grown that high. Now, the people who have bought the houses—some of them the second or third owners—are complaining about the hedge, but it was there before they were. Many feel that it is unfair that they should be able to do nothing about the hedges, while others feel that it would be unfair were they able to do something. I solve the problem by doing nothing about it, although I am proposing a mechanism that will ensure that it does not arise in future. I shall now try to describe that mechanism, and I am indebted to the officials of the House who have helped me by drafting the proposal. 
 Planning permission would be required for high hedges, and the new clause describes what would be considered to be a ''high hedge''. The first requirement is that it would be 
''a barrier to light for, or access to, residential property.''
 Therefore, one would not have to get planning permission unless the hedge, or part of it, were such a barrier. The second requirement is that it 
''is formed wholly or predominantly by a line of two or more evergreens'',
 and the third is that it 
''rises to a height of more than two metres above ground level.''
 I would much have preferred to specify 6 ft, but I am told that this is what we have to say nowadays. The new clause goes on to define an evergreen—I am sure that my hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet, as a former president of the Institute of Arboriculturalists, could do so too—and says: 
''The provisions of this section shall not apply to any high hedge existing on the date on which it comes into force.''
 In other words, if one's hedge had grown beyond 2 m on the date on which the requirement came into force, the new clause would not apply to it. I leave Ministers with half a loaf and this Minister with the opportunity to satisfy at least half the Prime Minister's pledge, as well as the problem of satisfying the rest of it. I believe that the new clause would ensure that people no longer risked finding themselves in the circumstances that are able to claim them as victims at the moment.

Matthew Green: I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on having suggested the new clause. I was one of the named supporters of the Bill championed by the hon. Member for Ealing, North. The only problem with the most recent of the failed Bills—in his potted history, the hon. Member for Isle of Wight mentioned three, but I think that there have been five in recent years—was that the hon. Member for Christchurch talked it out. Fortunately, he is not on this Committee, which is welcome if we are to debate the issue as that gives us an opportunity to legislate on it without having certain Members talking out a measure that has the overwhelming support of Members of all parties. It may be only half a loaf, but it is a good half loaf. However, I have been on too many Committees in the past few years to believe that the Minister will accept it as it stands. I suspect that she will say that she will consider the matter and possibly return to it, but that may not be enough. It is usually done to suggest that something should not happen.
 The Minister may have been advised that the Bill is not the appropriate vehicle for this issue, but it is likely to be the most appropriate that we will have for a very long time. We have seen the problems with private Members' legislation, so unless the Minister knows something that she cannot tell us such as that an appropriate Bill might appear in the Queen's Speech—I suspect, however, that the Government may have more pressing priorities than a high hedges Bill—she will be doing the House a disservice if she does not take this opportunity, because I cannot foresee when the next one will arise for incorporating such a proposal in Government legislation. 
 I fully support the new clause. If the Minister picks me up on any technical drafting errors—the other reason that Ministers use to reject new clauses—I suggest that with all three parties working together, we can rapidly find ways of reintroducing it on Report. It would take very little time on the Floor of the House to do that. My only regret is that in this instance, it has been introduced by a Member whose name is not quite 
 as appropriate to the subject as is that of the noble Baroness Gardner of Parkes. For the sake of posterity, I wish that it had been her Bill, as that would have made it one of the most appropriate Bills that could ever have been invented.

Sydney Chapman: I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight on the way in which he introduced his new clause. I have heard three memorable speeches about the need to tackle the problem of high hedges; they were made by my hon. Friends the Members for Isle of Wight and for Solihull, and by the hon. Member for Ealing, North—all of whose facility for style and wit I admire. I particularly admire the hon. Member for Ealing, North, whom I regard as the living personification of Mr. Punch—but in saying that, I hope that I am not thought to be the living personification of the Reverend Obadiah Slope.
 My hon. Friend asked me to tell the Committee what a coniferous shrub or tree is. Before I attempt to do so, I should say that although I was the instigator of national tree year in 1973, and was president of the Arboricultural Association for many years before I became a Minister, I am not an expert on trees; I simply love them. I understand that, in layman's language, a coniferous tree does not shed its leaves, whereas a deciduous tree does. The point is that because an evergreen or coniferous tree does not shed its leaves, it forms a permanent barrier that light cannot get through. 
 As my hon. Friend said, the issue raises great emotions. There are some—certainly one or two in my party—who, if I judge their views rightly, think that we have enough pressing problems with town and country planning laws and regulations, and we do not need any more. They think that to try to extend the planning system to hedges is taking a step too far. There are others—I am in this category—who recognise that high hedges are a real menace, and involve the loss of rights for neighbouring properties. 
 We rightly always pay regard to the need to preserve rights of way for ordinary people, but we make rights to light a second-class issue, although they are equally important. I am pleased that my hon. Friend has recognised the qualification someone should be required to take action to reduce the height of a hedge only when there is loss of light for a neighbour. That usually happens because a property owner puts high hedges on his or her northern boundary—which is, of course, the southern side of the property behind, and materially affects the light to that property. I applaud my hon. Friend for making that distinction. 
 It is right that the new clause specifies 
''a line of two or more evergreens''.
 One could perhaps live with one evergreen, because evergreens, or coniferous trees, tend to grow high but are relatively narrow. The definition of a hedge is, I suppose, two or more shrubs or trees—although I am not a lawyer, so perhaps I will be picked up on that definition. 
 The new clause also defines a high hedge as one that is 2 m in height. I come from an age where imperial 
 preference had two good meanings, and I resist using the metric system, although of course it is now part of our law and we have to live with it. Suffice it to say that 2 m is about 6¼ inches higher than 6 ft. That is, however, by the way. My point is that if one wishes to put up a fence on the side boundaries or at the back of a property, it must be less than 2 m high. One has to get planning permission if one wants to put up a fence higher than 2 m, so the choice of the 2 m height limit is very apposite. 
 I can understand, although I will be very sorry, if the Minister feels that the new clause should be resisted. In the light of what my hon. Friend said about the commitments and semi-commitments of Ministers, not least the Prime Minister, I hope that if the Minister asks us to resist the new clause he will feel able to give a commitment that legislation will be mentioned in the Queen's Speech on 26 November. If not, I hope that the Government will make a specific commitment to support a private Member's Bill, and to help draft it if necessary, in the new Session.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: I did not speak earlier, because I wanted to hear what hon. Members had to say about the new clause first. I unhesitatingly congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight on bringing it before the Committee. It gives the opportunity for an important subject to be debated.
 I know that some members of our party take a different view, as my hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet said, but the Conservative Opposition's view is that the matter is a significant problem. Some 10,000 cases are outstanding, and we believe that the Government should honour their promises to legislate on the matter. Without exception, all Members of Parliament will have had correspondence about difficult cases in which people have been severely inconvenienced by high hedges. I know of a case of one London resident who has a 30 ft hedge within a yard on both sides of their small property, and nothing can be done about that. We need some legislation. 
 To that end, I considered tabling the Bill that was promoted by my hon. Friend the Member for Solihull in its entirety as a new clause. I do not want to be churlish about the new clause tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight, as it provides an excellent opportunity to debate the subject, but it has several shortcomings. I am sure that the Minister will pick up on them, but it might be helpful if I pick up on them first. 
 Like my hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet, I have spent many hours, both on the Floor of the House and in Committee, on this problem. I sat through the debates on the Bills introduced by both my hon. Friend the Member for Solihull and the hon. Member for Ealing, North. The Government should take the earliest opportunity to remedy the problem with legislation. We want there to be some flexibility, because if two neighbours living side by side are happy with a high hedge, the Government should not intervene. Intervention should occur only when one of the parties has a problem with the hedge. We are wary about blanket legislation, and I would want to see some arbitration procedure built in, so a local 
 authority could be invited to resolve a dispute if either party has a problem. 
 New clause 1 would be prospective, not retrospective, and the Government already have 10,000 problems to deal with, which would be a massive work load for planning authorities throughout the country. On top of the heavy work load provided by the Bill, that would be a real problem, so the Government should perhaps introduce some phasing to deal first with prospective problems and then with retrospective problems. 
 My hon. Friend's new clause has some specific problems. I emphasise again that in identifying them, I am trying to be helpful rather than churlish. As Committee members know, evergreen hedges can grow by at least 3 ft a year, especially if they are leylandii. What was not a problem at the beginning of the year can become a significant problem by the end of it, and we need to find a mechanism to deal with it. A hedge can, and should, be trimmed to a height of 2 m—or 6 ft 6 in—but if one party is obstinate and does not trim it, and an order is made against them, who will be entitled to do the work? The Bill promoted by my hon. Friend the Member for Solihull provided that the local authority could do the work and charge the occupier who was causing the problem, and there should be some such safeguard in the Bill. 
 I had a problem with the Bills introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Solihull and by the hon. Member for Ealing, North, because they both refused to contemplate amendments on this matter. We would not want to make any legislation too all-encompassing, but the problem of high hedges occurs only with leylandii, Lawson cypress and laurel. Any legislation would need a tight definition of those species, because otherwise rare and more special species could be caught up. We would have to be very careful before cutting down hedges of unusual species, because the more special the species, the more likely it is that trimming it too hard can kill it.

Matthew Green: If the hon. Gentleman thinks that the problem is confined to those three species of tree, I will happily tell him about a problem in my constituency. Indeed, the problem is not always a hedge directly against someone's boundary. My constituency case concerns a house in a green lane. The hedge on the other side of the lane is a mixture of species. It has grown to about 30 or 40 ft, and completely blocks the light because of the angle of the land. I have visited the couple involved, who would not find redress if the restrictions proposed by the hon. Gentleman were accepted.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: I am grateful for that intervention. I shall come to the issue of light being blocked in a moment. The hon. Gentleman said that the hedge was a mixture of species; the most common species in most hedges is thorn, which is not evergreen. Bearing in mind the enormity of the problem, I would want the three species in question to be dealt with first; it may then be possible, by order, to extend the proposal to other species.
 I tend to follow the line taken by some of my hon. Friends that the measure should not be all-encompassing. I ask my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight what would happen when a hedge that had been planted properly and had not caused a nuisance was deemed to be a barrier to light in a development built after it was planted. Would retrospective legislation be required? I had such a case in Northleach in my constituency: someone innocently planted a hedge next to an agricultural field. It was not a problem to anyone at the time, but new houses were built and a constituent has written to me saying that the hedge now is a problem. That possibility should be addressed; perhaps an amendment with a retrospective element is needed.

Andrew Turner: Does my hon. Friend accept that it is likely that such a hedge would require permission subsequent to the construction of the houses concerned? Does he accept, too, that it is also likely that if the person were growing the hedge for the purpose of providing a barrier he would seek planning permission when he sold the land? I accept that there is a lacuna in the measure, which Ministers could plug at a later stage, in respect of houses built after the growth of a hedge on a site that had not been in the ownership of the person growing the hedge.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: I hear what my hon. Friend says, but I do not want to get too bound up in the argument. I am not being churlish about the new clause; I am merely pointing out what needs to be considered when the Government draft legislation.
 On the issue of light, the amendment does not define a barrier to light, and a definition is needed. The Building Research Establishment has issued some excellent guidelines on the subject, which deal with the matter raised by the hon. Member for Ludlow. As he said, a house 1 m away from a hedge is in a very different situation from one that is 40 or 50 m away; the same hedge can cause different problems, depending on the angle of the light and the height of the hedge. There are different problems in the winter and the summer. As my hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet said, whether the hedge is on the north or the south side of a house is also important. The matter has been considered in some detail in the BRE guidelines, which should, at the very least, be incorporated into any proposed measure. 
 Hedge roots, too, create difficulties. As every surveyor knows, hedge roots can cause problems of subsidence, and get into the drains of neighbouring houses. Hedge roots like drains, which provide them with the nutrients that they need to grow even faster, so hedges whose roots find their way into someone's drains are likely to become an even greater problem. 
 There are lots of matters that need to be dealt with, such as who is to hear appeals, what sanctions are available when the legislation is not complied with, and so on. I have identified some of them, but there will be others. I join my hon. Friend in urging the Government to act on the matter. About 10,000 people are already affected, and if there is to be a reasonable level of house building, which we need, that 
 number will grow rapidly. Indeed, if the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's guidelines are to allow the density of housing to increase, I suspect that the problem will become even greater. This is a pressing matter and I hope that the Government will deal with it.

Matthew Green: The hon. Gentleman is in danger of sitting on the fence—or should I say the hedge? Will he make clear whether he supports me in my belief that the Bill is appropriate legislation for the Government to use to introduce suitable clauses on Report to deal with this question?

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: That is a matter for the Government; it is their Bill. The Opposition merely say that the Government should find the first legislative opportunity. The matter would clearly be within the scope of the Bill, or the Clerk would not have selected the new clause. I simply say that it is an urgent problem, which needs to be dealt with at the earliest opportunity. If the Government can prepare an appropriate new clause in time for Report, and get it through the other place, they should use this opportunity. However, this is a complex subject and I suspect that it will be difficult to deal with in the Bill, so it will probably need separate legislation.
 The thrust of the speeches from the Opposition Benches is that the Government need to do something, and I hope that something will be included in the Queen's Speech. I cannot be any clearer than that.

Yvette Cooper: I see that have only a few minutes to respond to the debate. I shall answer as many points as I can, but we may need to return to the debate this afternoon. I strongly support the intention behind new clause 1. We were extremely disappointed by the failure of the Bill promoted by my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North. Only a small minority of Opposition Members opposed it; otherwise, the issue has cross-party support.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: I wish to correct the Minister. It was not only Opposition Members who opposed that Bill. The hon. Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) tabled a large number of amendments, which delayed our discussion of the Bill on the Floor of the House.

Yvette Cooper: As the hon. Gentleman will know, my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon supported the Bill. The hon. Gentleman will be aware of exactly what was going on when the Bill was discussed on those Fridays. I was about to give his party credit for the fact that the majority of Conservative Members supported the Bill, so it was a little churlish of him to try to cast aspersions on the views of my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon.
 In the short time since I took responsibility for this matter, it has been my experience that one requires considerable persistence and ingenuity to make progress. Many Members in the House and in the other place have shown that persistence and that ingenuity by continuing to raise the subject, and they do so because constituents continue to raise it with us. The problem makes people's lives a misery, especially those who live next to a house with huge high hedge, classically a leylandii hedge, as it can leer over the garden wall—some are double the height of the house—and can block light, and the view. As a result, and given the failure of the private Member's Bill, we have given much consideration to what we could to. 
 The hon. Member for Cotswold said that he had considered tabling my hon. Friend's entire Bill as an amendment to this Bill. We, too, considered that.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: I suggested that idea to the Government, who said that they would consider the idea carefully.

Yvette Cooper: I assure the hon. Gentleman that we have done. However, using my hon. Friend's Bill would raise problems of scope. We also considered whether other ways might be found to include such provisions, in order to address the many problems that hon. Members have raised, but they too would have created all sorts of difficulties—
 It being twenty-five minutes past Eleven o'clock, The Chairman adjourned the Committee without Question put, pursuant to the Standing Order. 
 Adjourned till this day at half-past Two o'clock.